Cardiff State Beach
San Diego County, California, United States
- Free parking
Today at a glance
Best: 4 pm to sunset, sunset 6:06 pm2.7
8 km/h5 mph wind, Poor
6.3
16 km/h10 mph wind, Good
5.7
9 km/h6 mph wind, Good
5.6
3 km/h2 mph wind, Good
7.2
8 km/h5 mph wind, Great
5.8
10 km/h6 mph wind, Good
5.8
13 km/h8 mph wind, Good
6.4
16 km/h10 mph wind, Good
7.9
10 km/h6 mph wind, Great
8.3
13 km/h8 mph wind, Great
8.0
13 km/h8 mph wind, Great
This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.
Best time to swim
Best: 4 pm to sunset. Beach score for daylight hours, with wind in km/hmph underneath.
- Air
- 20°C68°F
- Water
- 23°C73°F
- Wind
- 159 km/hmph W
- Gusts
- 159 km/hmph
- Waves
- 1.0 m3 ft
- UV
- 0 low
- Tide
- rising
- Rain
- 6%
- Sunset
- 6:06 pm
Tide, next 24 hours
- High 7 am, 1.2 m4 ft
- Low 2 pm, -0.2 m<1 ft
- High 8 pm, 1.0 m3 ft
Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.
Beach info
Lifeguards, parking and facilities before you head down.
About Cardiff State Beach
Cardiff State Beach is a state park in California, United States. It is located near Tabletops, which is 0.85 miles away. The nearest bus stop is 0.21 miles from the beach.
Cardiff State Beach is a California State Beach in San Diego County, California, United States. Popular activities include swimming, surfing, and beachcombing.
Just next to Cardiff State Beach is San Elijo State Beach, which has a state-run campground. The 507-acre (205 ha) park was established in 1949.
Source: Cardiff State Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Data sources
Facilities
- Parking9 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 40 m130 ft. Listed as free
- Food and drink7 within 1 km0.6 miNearest 130 m440 ft
- SurfaceSand
Getting there
- Nearest bus stop
- 350 m0.2 miHighway 101 & Cardiff Beach
- Nearest town
- 2.3 km1.4 miSolana Beach (city)
- Nearest airport
- 13 km8 miMcClellan-Palomar Airport (CLD)
Nearby places
- Las OlasMexican130 m440 ft
- Cardiff Beach Bar at Tower 13Food and drink180 m590 ft
- Ki'sFood and drink260 m840 ft
- Chart HouseFood and drink280 m910 ft
- The KrakenFood and drink390 m0.2 mi
Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources
Nearby beaches
- Tabletops1.4 km0.9 mi south away7.8 Great later
- San Elijo State Beach1.8 km1.1 mi north away8.1 Great later
- Del Mar Dog Beach4.2 km2.6 mi south away7.8 Great later
- Moonlight Beach4.5 km2.8 mi north away8.1 Great later
- Leucadia State Beach7.1 km4.4 mi north away8.1 Great later
Where to stay near the beach
Compare hotels and apartments near Cardiff State Beach.
Beachfront rooms go first on warm weekends.
Loads the map from Stay22, our stays partner.
Hotel results come from our stays partner. We may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the beach score.
The days ahead
Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.
- Sat8.8 ExcellentBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 16 km/h10 mph, rain 1%
- Sun9.4 ExcellentBest 8 am to 1 pmWind up to 16 km/h10 mph, rain 0%
- Mon9.2 ExcellentBest 8 am to 4 pmWind up to 19 km/h12 mph, rain 0%
- Tue6.9 GoodBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 15 km/h9 mph, rain 0%
- Wed6.1 GoodBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 14 km/h9 mph, rain 0%