Check the Beach

El Capitan Beach

Santa Barbara County, California, United States

El Capitan Beach 2 photos

  • Here is a view of the beach looking East at El Capitán State Beach in Santa Barbara County, California.

    Here is a view of the beach looking East at El Capitán State Beach in Santa Barbara County, California.. DillyLynn, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source

  • Rail bridge, El Capitan State Beach, California, USA

    Rail bridge, El Capitan State Beach, California, USA. Konrad Summers, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

Tomorrow at a glance

Calmest: 1 pm to 4 pm, sunset 6:15 pm
8 am
4.7
22 km/h14 mph wind, Fair
9 am
4.6
24 km/h15 mph wind, Fair
10 am
4.7
24 km/h15 mph wind, Fair
11 am
5.1
26 km/h16 mph wind, Fair
12 pm
6.1
28 km/h17 mph wind, Good
1 pm
7.2
26 km/h16 mph wind, Great
2 pm
7.2
26 km/h16 mph wind, Great
3 pm
7.3
27 km/h17 mph wind, Great
4 pm
6.9
31 km/h19 mph wind, Good
5 pm
6.9
31 km/h20 mph wind, Good
6 pm
6.6
33 km/h21 mph wind, Good

This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.

Where to stay near the beach

Compare hotels and apartments near El Capitan Beach.

Partner links

Staying a few days? Conditions improve from Fri, so a beachfront room still pays off.

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.

Forecast, hour by hour

Beach score for daylight hours, today and tomorrow. Wind in km/hmph underneath.

Air
18°C64°F
Water
21°C70°F
Wind
43 km/hmph NNE
Gusts
53 km/hmph
Waves
1.0 m3 ft
UV
0 low
Tide
falling
Rain
21%
Sunset
6:15 pm
Today
5.0Fair8 am149
4.5Fair9 am159
4.9Fair10 am117
5.0Fair11 am43
4.7Fair12 pm1711
5.8Good1 pm1710
4.1Fair2 pm2113
2.2Poor3 pm2012
4.5Fair4 pm64
4.7Fair5 pm149
3.0Poor6 pm2012
Fri
4.7Fair8 am2214
4.6Fair9 am2415
4.7Fair10 am2415
5.1Fair11 am2616
6.1Good12 pm2817
7.2Great1 pm2616
7.2Great2 pm2616
7.3Great3 pm2717
6.9Good4 pm3119
6.9Good5 pm3120
6.6Good6 pm3321
Green, 7 and upYellow, 4 to 7Red, under 4Calmest stretch

Tide, next 24 hours

Tide falling now. Low at 1 am, -0.2 m. High at 8 am, 1.1 m. Low at 2 pm, -0.2 m. High at 8 pm, 0.9 mLow 1 am, -0.2 m<1 ftHigh 8 am, 1.1 m4 ftLow 2 pm, -0.2 m<1 ftHigh 8 pm, 0.9 m3 ftNow3 am9 am3 pm9 pm
  • Low 1 am, -0.2 m<1 ft
  • High 8 am, 1.1 m4 ft
  • Low 2 pm, -0.2 m<1 ft
  • High 8 pm, 0.9 m3 ft

Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.

The days ahead

Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.

  • Sat9.4 ExcellentBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 11 km/h7 mph, rain 0%
  • Sun8.0 GreatBest 10 am to 12 pmWind up to 8 km/h5 mph, rain 0%
  • Mon9.7 ExcellentBest 12 pm to 7 pmWind up to 12 km/h7 mph, rain 0%
  • Tue9.3 ExcellentBest 10 am to 7 pmWind up to 14 km/h8 mph, rain 0%
  • Wed6.4 GoodBest 9 am to 7 pmWind up to 8 km/h5 mph, rain 0%

Beach info

Facilities and the beaches next door.

Facilities

  • Restrooms260 m860 ft away
  • Parking1 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 230 m760 ft. Fee not listed
  • Food and drink1 within 1 km0.6 miNearest 550 m0.3 mi
  • SurfaceSand

Getting there

Nearest airport
17 km11 miSanta Ynez Airport (SQA)

Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources

Nearby beaches