Wildwood Crest Surf Forecast
New Jersey, NJ · Wide, flat South Jersey sand - forgiving peaks on the Crest.
Loading the live forecast…
Wildwood Crest Spot Guide
Best swell
Ideal size
Best wind
The wave
Local knowledge
Wildwood Crest sits on the fattest, flattest beach in New Jersey — the sand is so wide the walk to the water is a warm-up. That same gentle slope tames the surf: waves here roll and crumble rather than pitch, which makes the Crest one of the friendliest places on the shore to learn.
The southern end of the island bends toward Cape May and picks up a bit of south swell the northern Wildwoods miss. Fall is prime — hurricane swells with warm water, the summer crowds gone, and no beach tags required here to begin with.
Live cams
Nearby spots
- Cape May 5 mi · New Jersey
- Indian River Inlet 28 mi · Delaware
- Atlantic City 35 mi · New Jersey
- Ocean City (MD) 46 mi · Maryland
- Assateague 57 mi · Maryland
FAQ
What swell direction works best at Wildwood Crest?
SE swell hits Wildwood Crest straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from ENE (60°) through SSW (200°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.
What wind is best at Wildwood Crest?
NW wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. SE 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 Wildwood Crest?
Late summer through fall is prime: hurricane season (August-October) sends the year's best long-period swell, and fall-winter nor'easters keep it pumping. Summer runs smallest outside of tropical systems.
What's the best tide at Wildwood Crest?
Mid to high — low tide gets slow over the flat bars. Tide predictions for the spot's NOAA station are in the forecast above.
Is Wildwood Crest good for beginners?
Yes — the famously wide, flat beach makes soft, forgiving waves.
How warm is the water at Wildwood Crest?
Roughly 41°F at its late-winter coldest to about 76°F in late summer. In practice that means a hooded 5/4 with boots and gloves 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 →