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Sunset Beach Surf Forecast

Oahu North Shore, HI · Big-wall North Shore proving ground with a shifting peak.

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Sunset Beach Spot Guide

Best swell

NNW
window W–NE (270°–50°)

Ideal size

4–20 ft
breaking-wave face height

Best wind

SSE
offshore · NNW is onshore

Verified against

Buoy 51201
live NOAA readings · our error

The wave

BreakWide-open reef peak with a shifting lineup
BottomReef and sand channels
WavesBig-wall rights (and lefts) that come alive from 6 feet up
AbilityNo when it's real — Sunset's shifting peak and West Bowl have humbled experts for seventy years.
Best tideMid
CrowdA knowing pack that sits in exactly the right (moving) spot
HazardsThe West Bowl clean-up set, long swims, serious current
AccessRoadside parking along Kamehameha Highway at Sunset Point

Local knowledge

Sunset is the connoisseur's North Shore wave: a huge, moody playing field that rewards ocean knowledge over acrobatics. It anchored pro surfing's early world titles and still sorts the field every winter — reading where the peak will shift on a rising NW swell remains one of surfing's PhD subjects.

Nearby spots

FAQ

What swell direction works best at Sunset Beach?

NNW swell hits Sunset Beach straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from W (270°) through NE (50°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.

What wind is best at Sunset Beach?

SSE wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. NNW 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 Sunset Beach?

Winter (October-March), when North Pacific storms send the legendary N/NW groundswell. Summer is small to flat on this shore.

What's the best tide at Sunset Beach?

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

Is Sunset Beach good for beginners?

No when it's real — Sunset's shifting peak and West Bowl have humbled experts for seventy years.

How warm is the water at Sunset Beach?

Roughly 74°F at its late-winter coldest to about 81°F in late summer. In practice that means trunks or a rash guard 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 →