Big Sur · Monterey County · California
Sand Dollar Beach Surf Report & Forecast, Big Sur, CA
Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur, California: 9–11 ft, well overhead, at 5 am PST on Tuesday, Nov 10, rated Great. The main swell is 7.0 ft at 13 seconds from the west-northwest, with an 8 mph offshore wind from the 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 9:37 am.
9–11 ft
well overhead · occasional 12 ft
- Swell
- 7.0 ft · 13 s · WNW
- Wind
- 8 mph (NE), gusts 15offshore
- Tide
- 3.8 ft risinghigh 6.6 ft at 9:37 am
- Water
- 68°F3/2
- Air
- 62°Ffeels like 53°F
- Sun
- rise 6:37 amset 5:02 pm
Sand Dollar Beach surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Sand Dollar Beach: 6 am, Great, on a rising high 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 Sand Dollar Beach: 6 am, Great, on a rising mid tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 9–10 ft | Great | 9 mph offshore (NE), gusts 17 | 4.4 ft |
| 7 am | 8–9 ft | Great | 9 mph offshore (NE), gusts 19 | 5.2 ft |
| 8 am | 8–9 ft | Great | 9 mph offshore (NE), gusts 18 | 6.0 ft |
| 9 am | 8–9 ft | Great | 6 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 12 | 6.5 ft |
| 10 am | 8–9 ft | Great | calm | 6.5 ft |
| 11 am | 8–9 ft | Great | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 12 pm | 7–9 ft | Great | calm | 5.1 ft |
| 1 pm | 8–9 ft | Great | calm | 3.9 ft |
| 2 pm | 7–9 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 2.5 ft |
| 3 pm | 7–9 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (N) | 1.4 ft |
| 4 pm | 8–9 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 9 | 0.5 ft |
| 5 pm | 8–10 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 12 | 0.2 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 9–11 ft | Great | 6 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 11 | 4.2 ft |
| 7 am | 9–10 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (ENE) | 4.9 ft |
| 8 am | 9–10 ft | Great | calm | 5.6 ft |
| 9 am | 9–10 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 10 | 6.1 ft |
| 10 am | 9–10 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 13 | 6.4 ft |
| 11 am | 8–10 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 13 | 6.2 ft |
| 12 pm | 8–10 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 13 | 5.6 ft |
| 1 pm | 9–10 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 9 | 4.6 ft |
| 2 pm | 8–10 ft | Great | calm | 3.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 8–9 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (SSE), gusts 9 | 2.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 8–9 ft | Good | calm | 1.2 ft |
| 5 pm | 7–9 ft | Great | calm | 0.6 ft |
Sand Dollar Beach waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 5 am, sets at Sand Dollar Beach arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly spilling and crumbly.
- Set waves
- about 10.6 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 38 s
- Lulls
- about 145 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Spillingwhich means soft, crumbling whitewater
- Shape
- Crumblywhich means whitewater rolls gently down the face
- Breaking
- 51% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- strong, about 1.5 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Sand Dollar Beach surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Sand Dollar Beach: the biggest day is Monday, Nov 16 at 16–20 ft, and the best-rated day is Tuesday, Nov 10 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 16–19 ft and Fair; Sunday, Nov 15, 11–17 ft and Great.
Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Sand Dollar 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 | 7–10 ft | Great | 7.0 ft · 13 s · WNW | 9 mph offshore (NE), gusts 18 | 4 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 6 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 7–11 ft | Great | 7.0 ft · 13 s · WNW | calm | calm | 6 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 9–14 ft | Great | 6.9 ft · 13 s · WNW | 7 mph offshore (SE), gusts 15 | 10 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 23 | 2 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 11–14 ft | Great | 9.4 ft · 15 s · WNW | 10 mph offshore (SE), gusts 24 | 10 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 24 | 6 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 16–19 ft | Fair | 13.0 ft · 15 s · W | 7 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 15 | 9 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 21 | 7 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 11–17 ft | Great | 13.3 ft · 16 s · WNW | calm | 5 mph onshore (W), gusts 12 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 16–20 ft | Great | 9.8 ft · 14 s · WNW | calm | 16 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 32 | 10 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 12–17 ft | Great | — | 5 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 9 mph onshore (WNW) | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 8–11 ft | Good | — | 7 mph onshore (WNW) | 21 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 26 | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 8–12 ft | Fair | — | 13 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 19 | 15 mph onshore (NW) | 7 am |
| Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Sand Dollar Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Sand Dollar Beach tide chart and tide times
Tides at Sand Dollar Beach today, Tuesday, Nov 10: low 3.4 ft at 3:25 am, high 6.6 ft at 9:37 am and low 0.2 ft at 5:04 pm. At 5 am the tide is 3.8 ft and rising.
Sand Dollar Beach tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.4 ft at 3:25 amHigh 6.6 ft at 9:37 amLow 0.2 ft at 5:04 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.4 ft at 12:01 amLow 3.6 ft at 3:55 amHigh 6.4 ft at 10:07 amLow 0.4 ft at 5:48 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.4 ft at 1:04 amLow 4.0 ft at 4:22 amHigh 6.4 ft at 10:42 amLow 0.8 ft at 6:32 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.5 ft at 2:08 amLow 4.2 ft at 4:54 amHigh 6.3 ft at 11:20 amLow 1.1 ft at 7:22 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.6 ft at 3:16 amLow 4.4 ft at 5:49 amHigh 5.9 ft at 11:59 amLow 1.2 ft at 8:14 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.5 ft at 4:18 amLow 4.3 ft at 7:10 amHigh 5.3 ft at 12:50 pmLow 1.2 ft at 9:04 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.6 ft at 5:02 amLow 4.2 ft at 9:06 amHigh 4.8 ft at 1:55 pmLow 1.3 ft at 9:52 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.8 ft at 5:29 amLow 3.8 ft at 10:43 amHigh 4.5 ft at 3:19 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Sand Dollar Beach water temperature
The water temperature at Sand Dollar Beach is about 68°F on Tuesday, Nov 10. With the air feeling like 53°F and an 8 mph wind, a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays near 68°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 Sand Dollar Beach
- Willow Creek2.2 mi SSE · 10–11 ft · Great
- Mill Creek4.2 mi NNW · 4 ft · Great
- Big Creek12 mi NW · 9–10 ft · Good
- San Carpoforo Creek Beach14 mi SE · 7–8 ft · Great
- San Simeon28 mi SE · 4–5 ft · Good
- Pfeiffer Beach29 mi NW · 4–5 ft · Great
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Sand Dollar Beach
Sand Dollar Beach is a beach break in Big Sur, Monterey County, California, facing west. Also called Plaskett Creek and Pacific Valley.
Follow Sand Dollar 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.