Hour by hour
W Skim 8+Good 6.5+Fair 4.5+Skip it
Beach report
Tide
Hover or drag across the chart to read any time. Yellow dots are low tide.
Hover or drag across the chart to read any time. Yellow dots are low tide.
Skimboarding forecast for Crystal Cove, CA: a skim score with shorebreak size, how far out the waves break, tide, wind and the best time to skim today and the next 5 days. Updated through the day from NOAA, the National Weather Service and marine forecast models. One of 300 beaches on SkimCast.
Crystal Cove is a southwest-facing beach in the Orange County area, California, with a gentle, wide shoreline. For wave riding, SkimCast looks for about 1.5 to 3.5 ft of shorebreak breaking close to the sand, light or offshore wind, and the tide near low tide. For flatland, the best sessions come near low tide on small days.
The forecast for Crystal Cove combines NOAA tide predictions from station 9410580, live wave readings from NOAA buoy 46285, the National Weather Service surf zone forecast for Orange County Coastal and Open-Meteo wave and wind models. The skim score updates through the day, so check it before you go.
Crystal Cove has a gentle, wide beach, so wave riding is usually best near low tide with light or offshore wind. Flatland skimming is best near low tide, when the sand stays wet and the shorebreak is small. The hour-by-hour forecast on this page shows the best window for today and the next 5 days.
Check the skim score at the top of this page. 8 or higher is a W Skim, 6.5 or higher is good, 4.5 or higher is fair, and anything lower is a day to skip. It updates through the day from NOAA tides, NOAA buoys, the National Weather Service and marine forecast models.
For wave riding, SkimCast looks for about 1.5 to 3.5 ft of shorebreak breaking close to the sand at Crystal Cove. Smaller days are better for flatland, and bigger days tend to close out hard on the beach.