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 Rio Del Mar, 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.
Rio Del Mar is a southwest-facing beach in the NorCal area, California, with a steep 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 from low to mid tide, as it comes in. For flatland, the best sessions come near low tide on small days.
The forecast for Rio Del Mar combines NOAA tide predictions from station 9413745, live wave readings from NOAA buoy 46236, the National Weather Service surf zone forecast for Santa Cruz County Coastal and Open-Meteo wave and wind models. The skim score updates through the day, so check it before you go.
Rio Del Mar has a steep beach, so wave riding is usually best from low to mid tide, as it comes in 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 Rio Del Mar. Smaller days are better for flatland, and bigger days tend to close out hard on the beach.