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Galveston (61st St Pier) Surf Forecast

Upper Texas Coast, TX · Texas' most surfed stretch - piers and jetties shape the windswell.

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Galveston (61st St Pier) Spot Guide

Best swell

SSE
window ENE–SW (70°–220°)

Ideal size

1–5 ft
breaking-wave face height

Best wind

NNW
offshore · SSE is onshore

Verified against

Buoy 42035
live NOAA readings · our error

The wave

BreakJetty-and-pier beachbreak
BottomSand
WavesFrequent, forgiving windswell peaks
AbilityYes — Texas' teaching surf, with schools running most of the year.
Best tideMid to high
CrowdHouston's beach town; the named jetties each have their crew
HazardsRock groins every few blocks, murky water
AccessSeawall Blvd parking the length of town; 61st Street is a classic check

Local knowledge

Galveston's seawall groins organize the upper Gulf's windswell into rideable peaks nearly year-round, and its surf history runs deeper than most coasts' — locals were riding these bars in the 1930s. Fronts, not forecasts of groundswell, set the calendar: the day before a norther is Galveston's version of pumping.

FAQ

What swell direction works best at Galveston (61st St Pier)?

SSE swell hits Galveston (61st St Pier) straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from ENE (70°) through SW (220°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.

What wind is best at Galveston (61st St Pier)?

NNW wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. SSE 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 Galveston (61st St Pier)?

Winter cold fronts (November-March) make most of the year's surf, with tropical systems (June-November) providing the standout days. Expect long flat spells in mid-summer.

What's the best tide at Galveston (61st St Pier)?

Mid to high. Tide predictions for the spot's NOAA station are in the forecast above.

Is Galveston (61st St Pier) good for beginners?

Yes — Texas' teaching surf, with schools running most of the year.

How warm is the water at Galveston (61st St Pier)?

Roughly 56°F at its late-winter coldest to about 85°F in late summer. In practice that means a 4/3 in winter and trunks or a rash guard 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 →