Sunset Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Orange County, USA)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 12 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Photo by: Jenn

Sunset Beach Surf Guide

Sunset Beach in Orange County is a reasonably exposed sandbar break that has quite reliable surf. Summer offers the favoured conditions for surfing. The best wind direction is from the northeast. Groundswells are more common than windswells and the ideal swell angle is from the southwest. The sandbar break provides left and right handers. It's sometimes crowded here. Hazards include - Rips / undertow.

Sunset Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:
Sandbar	2
Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
fairly consistent	59°F*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Sunset Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Sunset Beach occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

12 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Sunset Beach (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Sunset Beach with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 4% of the time in January while 7% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 89% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

89%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Sunset Beach Location Map

Interactive Sunset Beach surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Sunset Beach is Long Beach Airport (LGB) in USA, 14 km (9 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Sunset Beach is John Wayne Arpt Orange Co (Santa Ana) Airport (SNA), also in USA, 19 km (12 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (ft)
Live Wind Speed (mph)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (ft)
Wind Speed (mph)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Sunset Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

12 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 22 April 2025, 12:18 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 22
ft, °F	2PM	5PM	8PM	11PM
Wave (ft)	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW
Period (s)	19	16	18	18
Wind (mph)
Wind State	on	on	on	on

What does Sunset Beach look like?

Latest photos from Sunset Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Julie Gonzalez Credit: Jenn Credit: Jenn

Tides at Sunset Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Los Patos (highway bridge), California, 2 miles from Sunset Beach.

Next High Water: 08:10pm | 3ft

Next Low Water: 01:35pm | 0ft

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Sunset Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.0 °C) at Sunset Beach is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (12.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.