Zuma
Zuma Beach
Now
Thu Nov 5 · 12–3 PM forecast
3–4 ftwaist to chest
Best tomorrow · Fri 6
Compare bothNothing good left today.
Best tomorrow · Fri 6, 9:15 AM to 5:15 PM Pacific.
then the light fades
2–3 ft · thigh to waist
Strong gusts can roughen up the waves.
Show on chart ↓
Onshore: wind from sea to land. It can make the waves choppy.
Rising tide: the water level is going up; 1.5–4.0 ft is this spot’s best range.
Water temperature is in °F; a swimsuit is enough for warmer water, depending on how cold you feel. This is the latest water reading, not a forecast for the session.
Buoy-checked: a live ocean buoy near this spot keeps this forecast honest.
Zuma surf guide
Malibu's long, open beach break west of Point Dume, for intermediates and up · 3 things to watch
Zuma guide
Malibu's long, open beach break west of Point Dume, for intermediates and up.
- Good for
- Intermediates on shortboards and bodyboards; longboards on small, clean days.
- The wave
- Sandbar peaks along the whole beach.
- Watch for
- A hard-hitting shorebreak.
- Strong rips, worst in front of lifeguard headquarters mid-beach.
- Kitesurfers at the north end on windy afternoons.
- Best when
- Best on a SW to W swell (235°–280°) with NE offshore wind, at mid tide (about 1.5–4 ft).
MoreLess about Zuma
Longboards at 2–4 ft, shortboards at 3–6 ft. Most consistent in fall and winter.
Zuma faces southwest and takes south, southwest and west swell. Winter brings the cleanest days, and the afternoon wind that blows it out draws kitesurfers to the north end.
Expect slightly chillier water than at the LA beaches to the south, and some of the cleanest grades in the county.
- Local tip
- Eight paid county lots hold about 2,000 cars, with more parking on the PCH shoulder.
GOOD TIDE TODAY9:00–11:15 AM2:55–5:25 PM
Guide updated October 2026
Spot research: WannaSurf, Surf-Forecast, Deepswell, Wikipedia, LA County Beaches and Harbors and LA County Fire Lifeguards.
Send a spot correctionNo cam for this spot yet.
Live buoy Santa Monica Bay
- WAVES
- 4.0 ft
- PERIOD
- 7s
- FROM
- W 261°
- WATER
- 74°
Observed 1:30 PM · 52 min old
7-day surf
LB longboard · SB shortboard
Thu 12 PM · now
3–4 ft · waist to chest ·
6 mph onshore · tide 1.0 ft falling
Swell near the beach: 3.1 ft every 13 s from SW
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 12 AM | 3–4 ft | Longboard Good, shortboard Fair–Good, dark hours | 5 mph, gusts 7, offshore | 0.6 ft and falling |
| Thu 3 AM | 4–5 ft | Longboard Good, shortboard Good | 5 mph, gusts 7, offshore | 2.6 ft and rising |
| Thu 6 AM | 4–5 ft | Longboard Good, shortboard Fair–Good | 16 mph, gusts 23, offshore | 5.4 ft and rising |
| Thu 9 AM | 3–4 ft | Longboard Good, shortboard Fair–Good | 5 mph, gusts 6, cross | 4.0 ft and falling |
| Thu 12 PM | 3–4 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 6 mph onshore | 1.0 ft and falling |
| Thu 3 PM | 3–4 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 7 mph, gusts 8, onshore | 1.6 ft and rising |
| Thu 6 PM | 3–4 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Fair, dark hours | 6 mph, gusts 10, cross-onshore | 4.2 ft and rising |
| Thu 9 PM | 3–4 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Fair, dark hours | 19 mph, gusts 30, offshore | 3.4 ft and falling |
| Fri 12 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Fair, dark hours | 18 mph, gusts 26, offshore | 1.1 ft and falling |
| Fri 3 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Fair | 22 mph, gusts 34, offshore | 2.3 ft and rising |
| Fri 6 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 29 mph, gusts 41, offshore | 5.5 ft and rising |
| Fri 9 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 20 mph, gusts 30, offshore | 4.6 ft and falling |
| Fri 12 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 8 mph, gusts 18, offshore | 1.0 ft and falling |
| Fri 3 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 2 mph, gusts 11, glassy | 0.6 ft and rising |
| Fri 6 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 17 mph, gusts 23, offshore | 3.5 ft and rising |
| Fri 9 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 13 mph, gusts 17, offshore | 3.9 ft and falling |
| Sat 12 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 22 mph, gusts 34, offshore | 1.6 ft and falling |
| Sat 3 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 18 mph, gusts 28, offshore | 2.2 ft and rising |
| Sat 6 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 19 mph, gusts 27, offshore | 5.4 ft and rising |
| Sat 9 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 16 mph, gusts 25, offshore | 5.2 ft and falling |
| Sat 12 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 3 mph, gusts 4, cross-onshore | 1.4 ft and falling |
| Sat 3 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor | 5 mph, gusts 9, cross-onshore | −0.1 ft and rising |
| Sat 6 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 9 mph, gusts 13, cross-offshore | 2.6 ft and rising |
| Sat 9 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 7 mph offshore | 4.0 ft and falling |
| Sun 12 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 5 mph offshore | 2.2 ft and falling |
| Sun 3 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 5 mph offshore | 2.1 ft and rising |
| Sun 6 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 5 mph, gusts 6, offshore | 5.2 ft and rising |
| Sun 9 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 2 mph, gusts 4, glassy | 5.6 ft and falling |
| Sun 12 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor | 3 mph onshore | 2.0 ft and falling |
| Sun 3 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Poor–Fair, shortboard Poor | 5 mph onshore | −0.4 ft and rising |
| Sun 6 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 6 mph, gusts 7, cross-offshore | 1.7 ft and rising |
| Sun 9 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 5 mph offshore | 3.9 ft and rising |
| Mon 12 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 5 mph offshore | 2.7 ft and falling |
| Mon 3 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 4 mph, gusts 5, offshore | 2.2 ft and rising |
| Mon 6 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 4 mph, gusts 5, offshore | 4.8 ft and rising |
| Mon 9 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 2 mph, gusts 3, glassy | 5.9 ft and falling |
| Mon 12 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 4 mph onshore | 2.7 ft and falling |
| Mon 3 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 4 mph onshore | −0.3 ft and falling |
| Mon 6 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Fair, dark hours | 4 mph, gusts 5, cross-offshore | 0.9 ft and rising |
| Mon 9 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Good, shortboard Fair, dark hours | 4 mph offshore | 3.5 ft and rising |
| Tue 12 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Good, shortboard Fair, dark hours | 4 mph offshore | 3.1 ft and falling |
| Tue 3 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Good, shortboard Fair | 3 mph offshore | 2.3 ft and rising |
| Tue 6 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Good, shortboard Fair | 3 mph, gusts 4, offshore | 4.5 ft and rising |
| Tue 9 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 2 mph, gusts 3, glassy | 5.9 ft and falling |
| Tue 12 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor–Fair | 5 mph onshore | 3.3 ft and falling |
| Tue 3 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Poor–Fair, shortboard Poor | 5 mph onshore | 0.0 ft and falling |
| Tue 6 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 3 mph, gusts 5, cross-offshore | 0.4 ft and rising |
| Tue 9 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 4 mph offshore | 2.9 ft and rising |
| Wed 12 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair, dark hours | 4 mph offshore | 3.3 ft and falling |
| Wed 3 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 4 mph offshore | 2.5 ft and rising |
| Wed 6 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 4 mph offshore | 4.1 ft and rising |
| Wed 9 AM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair–Good, shortboard Poor–Fair | 2 mph, gusts 3, glassy | 5.7 ft and rising |
| Wed 12 PM | 2–3 ft | Longboard Fair, shortboard Poor | 5 mph onshore | 3.9 ft and falling |
| Wed 3 PM | Waves unavailable | Longboard Unavailable, shortboard Unavailable | 6 mph, gusts 8, onshore | 0.6 ft and falling |
| Wed 6 PM | Waves unavailable | Longboard Unavailable, shortboard Unavailable, dark hours | 5 mph, gusts 7, cross | 0.1 ft and rising |
| Wed 9 PM | Waves unavailable | Longboard Unavailable, shortboard Unavailable, dark hours | 5 mph cross-offshore | 2.3 ft and rising |
Today’s tide
GOOD 9:00–11:15 AM2:55–5:25 PM
Mugu Lagoon · feet above low water
Swell
New W swell fills in Sunday night.
Details
New W swell (12s) fills in Sunday night, peaks Monday evening, fades Tuesday.
Primary ·
W265°
Secondary ·
S186°
Primary is the main displayed swell by wave energy; another swell can affect this spot more because of its direction.
Short period means closely spaced waves; they usually have less push than a similar-size swell with longer gaps.
Secondary is another swell in the water; it can add waves from a different direction.
Period: seconds between waves; longer gaps usually mean more powerful waves, depending on size and direction.
Wave forecast checked against the live Santa Monica Bay buoy.
Updated 2:03 PM · CDIP/Scripps, Open-Meteo and NOAA.
Common questions
Is Zuma good for beginners?
Not really; it suits surfers with some experience.
What tide is best at Zuma?
It’s best at mid tide (about 1.5–4 ft).
What swell works at Zuma?
A SW to W swell (235°–280°) is best, with NE offshore wind. It picks up swell from SSE to WNW (160°–290°). Most consistent in fall and winter.
What board should I ride at Zuma?
Either works: longboards at 2–4 ft, shortboards at 3–6 ft.
What should I watch out for at Zuma?
A hard-hitting shorebreak; strong rips, worst in front of lifeguard headquarters mid-beach; and kitesurfers at the north end on windy afternoons.