The Wedge • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (November - February)

The Wedge is at its most cooperative during late autumn and winter. The average swell size may only hover around 2-3ft (0.8-0.9m), but the average period is consistently 12-13 seconds, and the North Pacific storm track is firing. While the dominant swell direction skews W and WSW rather than pure S/SW, The Wedge's unique jetty refraction turns these long-period pulses into the fast, heaving peaks that made the wave famous. The real clincher is wind: November, December and January all boast 41-47% ideal conditions, with N, NNE, NE and NNW offshore breezes keeping the surface clean.

Fair Surf Season (March - April, October)

October and March offer transitional windows with lingering swell and the first or last meaningful offshore flows of the season. October brings warm water and southwest-heavy energy plus a 27% ideal wind score; March still produces 3ft (1.0m) wave averages at 12.5s, but onshore WSW/W winds become more disruptive. April has great period and direction on paper, but ideal wind drops to 16%, making it a pick-your-window month.

Low Surf Season (May - September)

Summer is the most frustrating time at The Wedge because the swell direction is perfect - SSW and SW make up a huge share of the wave energy - yet the wind is almost always wrong. Ideal wind plummets to 4-8%, and a persistent WSW/W onshore flow chops up the lineup. The Wedge can still light up during south groundswell pulses or East Pacific tropical storms, but clean, normal days are rare. Water temps climb to the high teens, which only adds to the temptation.