TrueSwell

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Rincon Surf Forecast

Southern California, CA · The Queen of the Coast - California's benchmark winter point.

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Rincon Spot Guide

Best swell

SSW
window SSE–WNW (165°–290°)

Ideal size

3–12 ft
breaking-wave face height

Best wind

NNE
offshore · SSW is onshore

Verified against

Buoy 46053
live NOAA readings · our error

The wave

BreakCobblestone right point in three sections
BottomCobble
WavesCalifornia's benchmark winter right — 300-yard walls linking Indicator to the Cove
AbilityThe Cove on a small day suits strong intermediates; a real W swell belongs to experts and locals.
Best tideLow to mid
CrowdLegendary — a good winter day draws the county
HazardsRocks, crowds, and the highway walk-in
AccessRincon Beach Park lot at Bates Road, off US-101

Local knowledge

The Queen of the Coast earns the title every winter: W/NW groundswell wraps the point and peels for a quarter mile, the wave that shaped modern surfboard design from Yater to Merrick. Low-tide mornings after a swell peak, with offshore Santa Ana breath, are as good as American pointsurf gets.

Nearby spots

FAQ

What swell direction works best at Rincon?

SSW swell hits Rincon straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from SSE (165°) through WNW (290°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.

What wind is best at Rincon?

NNE wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. SSW 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 Rincon?

This stretch faces south, so it specialises in Southern Hemisphere S swells (April-September), while winter NW swell has to wrap in. Fall offers the best of both with clean conditions.

What's the best tide at Rincon?

Low to mid. Tide predictions for the spot's NOAA station are in the forecast above.

Is Rincon good for beginners?

The Cove on a small day suits strong intermediates; a real W swell belongs to experts and locals.

How warm is the water at Rincon?

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 →