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Ventura surf guide

C Street and Ventura Point offer long, rippable rights on winter swells in a relaxed coastal city.

Location
California, United States (34.2750, -119.2930)
Best season
Nov – Mar: November, December, January, February, March
Water temperature
13–19°C (3/2 mm (warmest) to 5/4 mm + boots (coldest))
Waves
Point break, Beach break
Suits
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers

Surf spots in Ventura

What's on in Ventura

Ventura has a relaxed downtown on Main Street with breweries, bars and restaurants a few blocks from the pier and the beach; nights are low-key. The Saturday-morning downtown farmers market is the weekly fixture.

Updated 2026-11-07.

Where to stay in Ventura

82 places to stay within 10 km: 26 hotel, 20 motel, 12 guest house, 8 camp site, 6 holiday rental, 3 bed and breakfast, 3 caravan site, 2 surf camp, 1 chalet, 1 resort. Compare them by distance to the nearest surf spot on the interactive map.

Surf camps: Mary Osborne Surf Camp and Retreats, Ohana Surf Camp.

Cafés, food and surf shops

83 cafés and bakeries, 396 restaurants and bars, 8 surf schools and 18 surf shops nearby. Surf schools: Ventura State Beach, Traveler Surf Club & Coastal Outpost, Ventura County Coastal Playgrounds, Ventura Surf School, Ventura Point, Ventura Surf School, Big's Boxing, Ventura, Calif. 805.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to surf in Ventura?

The best surf season in Ventura is Nov – Mar (November, December, January, February, March). The sea ranges from 13°C to 19°C over the year.

Which months have the most good surf days in Ventura?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Ventura's best spot were good or better most often in January (100% of days, 88% great), December (99% of days, 89% great) and November (100% of days, 80% great), and least often in August (75%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

Do I need a wetsuit in Ventura?

Water temperature in Ventura is 13–19°C: 3/2 mm (warmest) to 5/4 mm + boots (coldest).

Is Ventura good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Ventura suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Emma Wood, Solimar Reef and Beach, Faria Beach, Hobson County Park and Ormond Beach.

What are the surf spots in Ventura?

Ventura has 8 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Emma Wood (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at mid tide); Solimar Reef and Beach (Reef break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at low to mid tide); Faria Beach (Point break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at low to mid tide); Hobson County Park (Reef break, lefts and rights, beginner surfers, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at low to mid tide); Silver Strand (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces WSW (offshore wind from the ENE), best at low to mid tide, rising); Little Rincon/Mussel Shoals (Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at low to mid tide); Ormond Beach (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at mid to high tide); Rincon Point (Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces S (offshore wind from the N), best at all tides).

Where should surfers stay in Ventura?

Swell Cabin lists 82 places to stay within 10 km of Ventura, including 2 surf camps such as Mary Osborne Surf Camp and Retreats and Ohana Surf Camp, 12 guesthouses and homestays, 6 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

What is the nightlife like in Ventura?

Ventura has a relaxed downtown on Main Street with breweries, bars and restaurants a few blocks from the pier and the beach; nights are low-key. The Saturday-morning downtown farmers market is the weekly fixture. Regular nights: Saturday: Downtown Ventura farmers market at 200 block of E Main Street.

What is the surf forecast for Ventura this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Ventura and each of its 8 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/ventura: each spot rated hour by hour (Flat, Poor, Fair, Good, Great or Epic) from the way its coast faces, the swell, its period, the wind and the tide, with the best time each day and why, the size in surfers' words (e.g. "chest to head high, clean"), tides, and how sure the forecast is (three wave models compared). It is checked live against the nearest buoy and airport wind reports where there are any, and refreshed every few hours (waves from Open-Meteo, wind from MET Norway).

When is the best tide to surf in Ventura?

It depends on the spot: shallow reefs usually want mid to high tide, most beach breaks work best around mid tide. Swell Cabin's forecast for Ventura weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times, predicted from the Ventura tide gauge (1 km away).

How accurate is the surf forecast for Ventura?

Swell Cabin checks it against the EAST SANTA BARBARA - 12NM Southwest of Santa Barbara, CA buoy (51 km away, NOAA NDBC): over 806 hours from 2026-09-21 to 2026-11-05 the forecast wave height was within 20% of the buoy 72% of the time after correcting the wave model, which ran 25% high there (57% before). Last checked 2026-11-05.

Is the Ventura surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Ventura is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 31 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 63 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 100% of the time. Of the three wave models compared, Météo-France has been the closest to the satellites here. Nearer the coast, the buoy above decides the correction. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-06.

How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Ventura?

Trust in this page's data is low (45/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 8 spots fully verified, 8 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; 4 open audit warnings. How we check: https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-accuracy.md Last checked against sources on 2026-11-05. Every value comes from measured data (Open-Meteo, buoys), open databases (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata) or a published page we opened, never from visitor reports; a daily audit compares them and a weekly evaluation measures the error rate (https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-quality.md).

Is there a live surf cam in Ventura?

Swell Cabin hasn't found a live surf cam it could check in Ventura yet (it only lists cams it has opened); the surf forecast on its page shows the waves this week.

Where can I take surf lessons in Ventura?

Surf schools in and around Ventura include Ventura State Beach, Traveler Surf Club & Coastal Outpost, Ventura County Coastal Playgrounds, Ventura Surf School, Ventura Point and Ventura Surf School.

Nearby surf towns

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