Big Sur · Monterey County · California
Pfeiffer Beach Surf Report & Forecast, Big Sur, California
Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, California: 4–5 ft, head high, at 5 am PST on Tuesday, Nov 10, rated Great. The main swell is 5.1 ft at 13 seconds from the west, with a 10 mph offshore wind from the north-northeast, gusting 15 mph. Water is about 68°F, so a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 6.6 ft at 9:40 am.
4–5 ft
head high · occasional 6 ft
- Swell
- 5.1 ft · 13 s · Wplus 0.1 ft · 15 s · SW
- Wind
- 10 mph (NNE), gusts 15offshore
- Tide
- 3.9 ft risinghigh 6.6 ft at 9:40 am
- Water
- 68°F3/2
- Air
- 61°Ffeels like 49°F
- Sun
- rise 6:39 amset 5:03 pm
Pfeiffer Beach surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Pfeiffer Beach: 6 pm, Great, on a rising low tide.
Blue band: surf face height from the low end to set waves; dotted: occasional larger sets. Grey line: tide, in feet on the right scale. Colour strip: the hourly rating. Arrows: wind direction and strength, teal when offshore, orange when onshore.
Best-rated hour tomorrow at Pfeiffer Beach: 8 am, Good, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3–4 ft | Good | 7 mph offshore (NNE), gusts 12 | 4.5 ft |
| 7 am | 3–4 ft | Good | 7 mph offshore (NNE) | 5.3 ft |
| 8 am | 3 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (N) | 6.0 ft |
| 9 am | 3–4 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 6.5 ft |
| 10 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (NW) | 6.6 ft |
| 11 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 11 | 6.2 ft |
| 12 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (NW) | 5.3 ft |
| 1 pm | 5–6 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 12 | 4.0 ft |
| 2 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 13 | 2.7 ft |
| 3 pm | 5–6 ft | Good | 9 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 14 | 1.5 ft |
| 4 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 13 | 0.6 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 8 mph cross-shore (N) | 0.3 ft |
| 6 pm | 5–6 ft | Great | 8 mph cross-shore (N) | 0.5 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3–4 ft | Good | 4 mph offshore (NE) | 4.3 ft |
| 7 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 4.9 ft |
| 8 am | 4 ft | Good | calm | 5.6 ft |
| 9 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 6.2 ft |
| 10 am | 3–4 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (S) | 6.5 ft |
| 11 am | 3–4 ft | Fair | 5 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 11 | 6.3 ft |
| 12 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | 5 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 11 | 5.7 ft |
| 1 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | 5 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 10 | 4.7 ft |
| 2 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | 5 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 11 | 3.5 ft |
| 3 pm | 3 ft | Fair | 5 mph onshore (SW), gusts 11 | 2.3 ft |
| 4 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 1.3 ft |
| 5 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 0.7 ft |
Pfeiffer Beach waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 5 am, sets at Pfeiffer Beach arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and punchy.
- Set waves
- about 5.4 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 38 s
- Lulls
- about 144 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Punchywhich means steep takeoffs and a pitching lip
- Breaking
- 48% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- strong, about 1.8 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Pfeiffer Beach surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Pfeiffer Beach: the biggest day is Monday, Nov 16 at 10–13 ft, and the best-rated day is Sunday, Nov 15 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 11–13 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 4–9 ft and Great.
Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Pfeiffer Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription.
Bars: surf face height from the low end to set waves, by day. Colour strip: the day's best rating. Arrows: main swell direction. Shaded: this weekend.
The 10-day forecast as a table, with swell and wind
| Day | Surf | Rating | Main swell | Wind am | Wind pm | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | 3–6 ft | Great | 5.1 ft · 13 s · W | 6 mph cross-shore (N) | 8 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 13 | 6 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 3–4 ft | Good | 5.1 ft · 13 s · W | calm | 5 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 11 | 8 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 5–8 ft | Good | 4.5 ft · 13 s · W | 12 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 21 | 15 mph cross-shore (SSE), gusts 26 | 5 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 5–8 ft | Good | 6.5 ft · 15 s · W | 11 mph cross-shore (SSE), gusts 19 | 12 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 18 | 7 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 11–13 ft | Great | 9.7 ft · 15 s · W | 7 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 12 | 9 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 15 | 7 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 4–9 ft | Great | 8.3 ft · 16 s · W | calm | 7 mph onshore (SW), gusts 12 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 10–13 ft | Great | 6.8 ft · 14 s · W | 8 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 13 | 27 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 46 | 7 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 6–10 ft | Great | — | 6 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 8 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3–6 ft | Good | — | 5 mph onshore (WSW) | 17 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 22 | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 4–6 ft | Good | — | 16 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 26 | 13 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 18 | 1 pm |
| Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Pfeiffer Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Pfeiffer Beach tide chart and tide times
Tides at Pfeiffer Beach today, Tuesday, Nov 10: low 3.5 ft at 3:30 am, high 6.6 ft at 9:40 am and low 0.3 ft at 5:08 pm. At 5 am the tide is 3.9 ft and rising.
Pfeiffer Beach tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.5 ft at 3:30 amHigh 6.6 ft at 9:40 amLow 0.3 ft at 5:08 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.5 ft at 12:06 amLow 3.7 ft at 4 amHigh 6.5 ft at 10:10 amLow 0.5 ft at 5:51 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.5 ft at 1:08 amLow 4.0 ft at 4:28 amHigh 6.5 ft at 10:45 amLow 0.9 ft at 6:35 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.6 ft at 2:11 amLow 4.3 ft at 5:01 amHigh 6.3 ft at 11:23 amLow 1.2 ft at 7:25 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.7 ft at 3:18 amLow 4.5 ft at 5:55 amHigh 5.9 ft at 12:02 pmLow 1.2 ft at 8:16 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.6 ft at 4:20 amLow 4.4 ft at 7:16 amHigh 5.4 ft at 12:54 pmLow 1.3 ft at 9:07 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.7 ft at 5:04 amLow 4.2 ft at 9:10 amHigh 4.9 ft at 1:58 pmLow 1.4 ft at 9:54 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.9 ft at 5:31 amLow 3.8 ft at 10:46 amHigh 4.6 ft at 3:22 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Pfeiffer Beach water temperature
The water temperature at Pfeiffer Beach is about 68°F on Tuesday, Nov 10. With the air feeling like 49°F and a 10 mph wind, a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 67 and 70°F.
Water temperature is a forecast for the water at this spot, not a buoy reading. The wetsuit suggestion uses Billabong's wetsuit temperature scale, adjusted for air temperature and wind.
Surf spots near Pfeiffer Beach
- Andrew Molera State Park1.8 mi NW · 6–8 ft · Great
- Garrapata State Beach14 mi NNW · 8–9 ft · Great
- Big Creek17 mi SE · 9–10 ft · Good
- Monastery Beach21 mi NNW · 1 ft · Poor
- Carmel Meadows21 mi NNW · 5–6 ft · Great
- Carmel River State Beach22 mi NNW · 6–7 ft · Great
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Pfeiffer Beach
Pfeiffer Beach is a beach break in Big Sur, Monterey County, California, facing southwest. Also called Sycamore Canyon and Keyhole Rock.
Follow Pfeiffer Beach in the Current app
The first 10 days are free, and Premium adds days 11–16.
Forecasts are estimates. Never rely on them for safety. For rip current risk and beach hazards, check the National Weather Service. Forecasts from Current's novel physics simulation. No AI. No black boxes. Ocean and weather data: NOAA (U.S. government data). NOAA does not endorse this site.