Aptos · Santa Cruz County · California
Rio Del Mar Surf Report & Forecast, Aptos, California
Rio Del Mar, Aptos, California: 4–5 ft, head high, at 2 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Great. The main swell is 4.0 ft at 14 seconds from the west-southwest, with a 4 mph cross-shore wind from the northwest, gusting 9 mph. Water is about 67°F, so a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion; the next low tide is -0.2 ft at 4:42 pm.
4–5 ft
head high · occasional 6 ft
- Swell
- 4.0 ft · 14 s · WSW
- Wind
- 4 mph (NW), gusts 9cross-shore
- Tide
- 1.7 ft fallinglow -0.2 ft at 4:42 pm
- Water
- 67°F2mm springsuit
- Air
- 70°Ffeels like 75°F
- Sun
- rise 6:40 amset 5:03 pm
Rio Del Mar surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Rio Del Mar: 4 pm, Great, on a falling 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 Rio Del Mar: 6 am, Great, on a rising mid tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 6–7 ft | Good | 4 mph offshore (N) | 4.2 ft |
| 7 am | 6–7 ft | Good | 4 mph offshore (N) | 5.1 ft |
| 8 am | 6–7 ft | Good | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 9 am | 6–7 ft | Good | calm | 6.2 ft |
| 10 am | 6–7 ft | Good | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 6–7 ft | Great | calm | 5.5 ft |
| 12 pm | 5–6 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 4.4 ft |
| 1 pm | 5–6 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 15 | 3.1 ft |
| 2 pmnow | 5–6 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 13 | 1.7 ft |
| 3 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 11 | 0.6 ft |
| 4 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 9 | -0.0 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 9 | -0.2 ft |
| 6 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (N) | 0.3 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3–4 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (N) | 3.9 ft |
| 7 am | 3–4 ft | Great | 5 mph offshore (N) | 4.6 ft |
| 8 am | 3–4 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (N) | 5.4 ft |
| 9 am | 3–4 ft | Great | calm | 6.0 ft |
| 10 am | 3–4 ft | Great | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 3–4 ft | Great | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 12 pm | 3–4 ft | Great | calm | 4.9 ft |
| 1 pm | 4 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 3.8 ft |
| 2 pm | 4 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 2.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 4 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 10 | 1.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 4 ft | Great | calm | 0.3 ft |
| 5 pm | 4 ft | Great | calm | -0.2 ft |
Rio Del Mar waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 2 pm, sets at Rio Del Mar arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly spilling and crumbly.
- Set waves
- about 5.0 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 39 s
- Lulls
- about 144 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Spillingwhich means soft, crumbling whitewater
- Shape
- Crumblywhich means whitewater rolls gently down the face
- Breaking
- 81% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.1 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Rio Del Mar surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Rio Del Mar: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 6–11 ft, and the best-rated day is Thursday, Nov 12 (Epic). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 6–11 ft and Good; Sunday, Nov 15, 5–9 ft and Good.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Rio Del Mar 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | 4–7 ft | Great | 5.5 ft · 15 s · SW | calm | 6 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 13 | 4 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 3–4 ft | Great | 3.1 ft · 13 s · WSW | 4 mph offshore (N) | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 6 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 3–4 ft | Great | 3.3 ft · 13 s · WSW | 6 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 11 | 4 mph onshore (SW) | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 4–5 ft | Epic | 3.6 ft · 14 s · WSW | 4 mph cross-shore (E) | 9 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 22 | 11 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 5–7 ft | Great | 6.5 ft · 14 s · WSW | 5 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 10 | 12 mph onshore (SW), gusts 24 | 8 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 6–11 ft | Good | 7.3 ft · 15 s · WSW | 5 mph offshore (NNE) | 5 mph onshore (WSW) | 7 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 5–9 ft | Good | 6.7 ft · 17 s · WSW | calm | 5 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 11 | 4 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 6–8 ft | Good | 6.9 ft · 15 s · WSW | 5 mph cross-shore (N) | 11 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 23 | 7 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 3–5 ft | Epic | — | 6 mph offshore (N) | 9 mph cross-shore (NW) | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 2–3 ft | Great | — | calm | 7 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 12 | 1 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Rio Del Mar are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Rio Del Mar tide chart and tide times
Tides at Rio Del Mar today, Monday, Nov 9: low 2.9 ft at 3:12 am, high 6.2 ft at 9:17 am, low -0.2 ft at 4:42 pm and high 4.2 ft at 11:26 pm. At 2 pm the tide is 1.7 ft and falling.
Rio Del Mar tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 2.9 ft at 3:12 amHigh 6.2 ft at 9:17 amLow -0.2 ft at 4:42 pmHigh 4.2 ft at 11:26 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.0 ft at 3:44 amHigh 6.1 ft at 9:49 amLow -0.2 ft at 5:17 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.1 ft at 12:12 amLow 3.2 ft at 4:11 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:23 amLow 0.0 ft at 6 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.1 ft at 1:13 amLow 3.6 ft at 4:44 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:55 amLow 0.3 ft at 6:44 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.1 ft at 2:14 amLow 3.8 ft at 5:21 amHigh 5.8 ft at 11:35 amLow 0.6 ft at 7:32 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.2 ft at 3:18 amLow 4.0 ft at 6:09 amHigh 5.5 ft at 12:17 pmLow 0.8 ft at 8:23 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.3 ft at 4:17 amLow 4.0 ft at 7:38 amHigh 5.0 ft at 1:03 pmLow 0.8 ft at 9:13 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.2 ft at 5:07 amLow 3.7 ft at 9:16 amHigh 4.5 ft at 2:10 pmLow 0.9 ft at 10 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.5 ft at 5:35 amLow 3.4 ft at 10:52 am |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Rio Del Mar water temperature
The water temperature at Rio Del Mar is about 67°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 75°F and a 4 mph wind, a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 66 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 Rio Del Mar
- Beer Can Beach0.8 mi SE · 6–7 ft · Great
- Seacliff State Beach0.8 mi WNW · 4–5 ft · Great
- Seascape1.2 mi SE · 5–6 ft · Good
- Capitola Jetty / Rivermouth2.8 mi W · 3–4 ft · Good
- La Selva Beach2.9 mi SE · 6–7 ft · Good
- Privates3.1 mi W · 3 ft · Good
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Rio Del Mar
Rio Del Mar is a jetty in Aptos, Santa Cruz County, California, facing southwest. Also called Rio and Aptos Creek.
Follow Rio Del Mar 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.