Refugio Beach

Refugio Beach is an S-facing point break in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It picks up swell from SW to W, and land, islands, reefs or shallow banks block about 73% of the directions it faces. Offshore wind here blows from the N: light winds or N breezes usually mean the cleanest surf, while S onshores chop it up.

Rare slot: the Santa Barbara Channel lets in swell from 166.5° (SSE) and nothing either side. It only lines up when a storm sits in that exact direction, more than 54 km out. How slot swells work

Rare slot: the Santa Barbara Channel lets in swell from 202.5° (SSW) and nothing either side. It only lines up when a storm sits in that exact direction, more than 52 km out. How slot swells work

Break

Point

Faces

S (186°)

Best swell

SW to W (219°–262°), 12 s or longer

Best wind

NW to NE offshore, or glassy

Best surf height

3–8 ft at the beach

Swell window

SW to W (219.5° to 273°)

Rare slot

Santa Barbara Channel, 166.5° SSE

Rare slot

Santa Barbara Channel, 202.5° SSW

Offshore wind

N

Tide

NOAA station 9411399

Wave buoy

EAST SANTA BARBARA - 12NM Southwest of Santa Barbara, CA · 32 km away

Cams

None yet