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Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier) Surf Forecast

North Carolina, NC · Johnnie Mercers Pier peaks at Wrightsville's north end.

▶ Watch the Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier) surf cam Surf cam · stream by SurfChex

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Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier) Spot Guide

Best swell

ESE
window ENE–S (60°–190°)

Ideal size

2–9 ft
breaking-wave face height

Best wind

WNW
offshore · ESE is onshore

Verified against

Buoy 41110
live NOAA readings · our error

The wave

BreakBeachbreak pier peaks
BottomSand
WavesA-frames off the pier bowl, lefts and rights
AbilityYes — the inside reforms are friendly on small days, and the pier bowl adds punch for better surfers when a swell runs.
Best tideLow to mid, on the push
CrowdThe north end draws its own pack — busy summer mornings, but lighter than the south end on most days
HazardsStay the legal distance off the pier pilings; rips run along the bowl on bigger days
AccessPublic accesses off Lumina Ave near the pier — metered parking goes fast on summer weekends

Local knowledge

Johnnie Mercers Pier anchors the north half of Wrightsville Beach and behaves like its own spot: the pier bowl gathers sand differently than the south end, and on many swells one end of the beach is clearly better than the other. Checking both piers before paddling out is a Wrightsville tradition — now you can compare both cams from your couch.

The wave here is a classic Carolina pier peak: shifty summer A-frames, organized walls when a fall tropical swell or winter cold front lines up. It generally handles a touch more north in the swell than Crystal Pier, and the pier itself gives some shelter from south winds.

Live cams

Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier) (SurfChex)

Nearby spots

FAQ

What swell direction works best at Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier)?

ESE swell hits Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier) straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from ENE (60°) through S (190°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.

What wind is best at Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier)?

WNW wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. ESE 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 Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier)?

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 Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier)?

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

Is Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier) good for beginners?

Yes — the inside reforms are friendly on small days, and the pier bowl adds punch for better surfers when a swell runs.

How warm is the water at Wrightsville Beach (Mercers Pier)?

Roughly 47°F at its late-winter coldest to about 82°F in late summer. In practice that means a hooded 4/3 or 5/4 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 →