El Porto (Manhattan Beach) Surf Forecast
Southern California, CA · LA's most-surfed stretch - hollow dawn-patrol beachbreak.
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El Porto (Manhattan Beach) Spot Guide
Best swell
Ideal size
Best wind
The wave
Local knowledge
A deep-water canyon aims swell directly at El Porto, making this quarter mile of Manhattan Beach the most reliably surfable water in Los Angeles — and the most reliably surfed, with hundreds in the water before sunrise. Winter W/NW brings the barrels; summer south keeps the streak alive.
Nearby spots
- Malibu (First Point) 17 mi · Southern California
- Huntington Beach Pier 29 mi · Southern California
- C Street (Ventura) 57 mi · Southern California
- Lower Trestles 60 mi · Southern California
- San Onofre (Old Man's) 61 mi · Southern California
FAQ
What swell direction works best at El Porto (Manhattan Beach)?
WSW swell hits El Porto (Manhattan Beach) straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from S (180°) through NW (310°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.
What wind is best at El Porto (Manhattan Beach)?
ENE wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. WSW wind is straight onshore and chops it up; light wind under ~5 kn is fine from any direction.
When is the best time of year to surf El Porto (Manhattan Beach)?
Fall through winter (October-March), when North Pacific storms send consistent NW groundswell. Early fall usually has the best swell-to-conditions ratio; summer is the small season.
What's the best tide at El Porto (Manhattan Beach)?
Mid. Tide predictions for the spot's NOAA station are in the forecast above.
Is El Porto (Manhattan Beach) good for beginners?
Yes on ordinary days; real W swells produce heavy, board-snapping tubes.
How warm is the water at El Porto (Manhattan Beach)?
Roughly 57°F at its late-winter coldest to about 70°F in late summer. In practice that means a 4/3 in winter and a spring suit in summer. The forecast above shows the current water temperature.
How far out is this forecast reliable?
The wave model has real skill to about 10 days, and we cut the chart there instead of padding it with guesses. Days 1-3 are solid, 4-7 useful, 8-10 a trend heads-up - and we publish our measured error against NOAA buoys, updated continuously.
Forecast from TrueSwell's own physics-based wave model (exposure → refraction → breaking, every swell train separately), built on public NOAA and Open-Meteo data and scored daily against NDBC buoy observations. How the model works →