Beach
both
Level 7/10

Black's Beach

La Jolla, USA (CA)
🌀Strong rips🚶Difficult access

Black's Beach is Southern California's power center—a world-class beach break where Scripps Canyon focuses and amplifies swell energy to produce some of the heaviest waves on the West Coast. The deep submarine canyon offshore acts like a lens, concentrating wave energy and creating peaks that tower over typical beach breaks. Access requires a 300-foot cliff descent that filters out casual visitors, leaving the lineup to committed surfers willing to earn their waves. The nude beach above and the unrelenting power below combine to create one of California's most unique surf experiences.

3-Day Forecast
Today
16
37
Poor
1.1m
@16s
10km/h
Tue
17
36
Poor
1.1m
@16s
8km/h
Wed
18
34
Poor
1.1m
@15s
8km/h
+7
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Today's Conditions

Swell
1.1m
SSW(193°)
Score: 9/25
Period
16s
Long period groundswell
Score: 25/25
Wind
10km/h
NNW(341°)
Score: 13/25
Weather
18°C
0.0mm14%
Secondary Swell
0.3mW
Forecast Confidence
100%
Sources: open-meteo-marine, open-meteo-weather
Best Session
morning

Location & Conditions

Loading map...
0°45°90°135°180°225°270°315°NESW
Swell
Wind
View in OpenStreetMap
Showing forecast for today

Tide Times

2:03 am
Low tide - -0.41m
8:06 am
High tide - 0.76m
2:50 pm
Low tide - -1.01m
9:06 pm
High tide - 0.46m
Times shown in spot-local time.

📊 Buoy ValidationValidated ✓

Santa Monica Bay

167 km away

Source: noaa

Forecast Validation
Buoy observed: 1.2m
Forecast error: ±0.1m

Strike Score Breakdown

37
Poor
Components
Swell Direction0/25
Swell Size9/25
Swell Period25/25
Wind13/25
Raw Score47/100
Adjustments
⚠️ Weak Component-10
Adjusted Score37/100
Confidence
Multiplier×1.00
Final Score37
👥 Spring Break
📡Buoy-adjusted +1 · Santa Monica Bay buoy reads 1.2m (forecast 1.1m)

Spot Details

Swell Requirements

Optimal direction
W (280°)
Direction range
250° - 320°
Size range
1m - 4m
Ideal size
3.1m
Height multiplier
1.08×
Ideal period
16s+

Wind Requirements

Optimal direction
ENE (70°)
Offshore range
30° - 110°
Best window
morning

Tide Requirements

Optimal tide
low to mid
Optimal range
0.3m - 1.5m

Water temp

17°C

Wetsuit

3/2mm fullsuit

Difficulty

7/10

Crowd level

5/10

👥 Spring Break (Mar 14Mar 22) — expect extra crowds

Access: Steep trail from Torrey Pines or La Jolla Farms.

Best Season

Peak: Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar

Secondary: Apr, Sep

Best on big NW swells. Scripps Canyon focuses swell energy.

Getting There

Airport
SAN
Drive time
25 min
Data quality
verified

Strike Log

Community Discussion