Montara Surf Guide

Montara Surf Guide

Montara Beach is less than a mile of open beach that faces directly into the Gulf of Alaska and takes a constant hammering from swell, wind, tide, fog and everything else the Pacific Ocean can throw. The good news is that the S winds that accompany fog and/or rain in this region blow straight offshore at Montara, so on those summer days when San Francisco's beachbreaks are gray, blown-out and infinitely uninviting, Montara can be smooth and sweet, albeit a little chilly.

During the winter, Montara is constantly shape-shifting and the bottom is always in a state of flux from the swell and tide. Montara on a big swell can be as spectacular as closed-out Pipeline. When the ocean mellows a bit, Montara ranges from deadly to excellent, depending on the bottom contour and swell direction. Montara is surfed mostly by beginners and intermediate surfers on the smaller windswell days. And on a sunny day in the fall or winter, sometimes the surf can be epic. In the summer, S and W swells dribble in at a point on the south end and along the beach. There's usually something to ride at Montara.