Wasaga Beach

Best Surf Season (October - December)

For a beach that faces northwest into the teeth of Georgian Bay, the surf season is all about late fall and early winter. As the first arctic air masses dive southeast out of Canada, they drag strong cold fronts across the Great Lakes and drive a hard west-northwest windswell directly into Nottawasaga Bay. Average wave heights climb to 0.5-0.7m (1.5-2.5ft) and periods hold in the 3.5-4s range, keeping the lake alive. More importantly, the percentage of truly 'ideal' surfing windows rises to 4-6% - the highest of the year - as cold highs nudge in from the prairies and deliver rare offshore E/ESE/SE/SSE winds following the storms. When negative NAO or Arctic Oscillation phases set up, the Great Lakes sit under a deeper trough, and the combination of storm energy and cold, dry high pressure can make October through December the most rewarding months on the sandbars.