Check the Beach

Pfeiffer Beach

Monterey County, California, United States

Pfeiffer Beach 1 photo

  • Pfeiffer Beach, United States

    Pfeiffer Beach, United States. Kace Rodriguez kace, CC0. Source

Tomorrow at a glance

Best: 3 pm to 6 pm, sunset 6:20 pm
8 am
6.4
11 km/h7 mph wind, Good
9 am
6.2
14 km/h9 mph wind, Good
10 am
6.0
17 km/h11 mph wind, Good
11 am
5.6
18 km/h11 mph wind, Good
12 pm
5.6
20 km/h12 mph wind, Good
1 pm
6.0
22 km/h14 mph wind, Good
2 pm
6.1
25 km/h15 mph wind, Good
3 pm
6.7
20 km/h12 mph wind, Good
4 pm
7.5
14 km/h8 mph wind, Great
5 pm
6.9
18 km/h11 mph wind, Good
6 pm
6.4
18 km/h11 mph wind, Good

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

Best time to swim

Best: 3 pm to 6 pm. Beach score for daylight hours, with wind in km/hmph underneath.

Air
15°C59°F
Water
20°C67°F
Wind
128 km/hmph NNW
Gusts
2213 km/hmph
Waves
1.7 m6 ft
UV
0 low
Tide
falling
Rain
23%
Sunset
6:20 pm
Today
4.6Fair8 am138
5.4Fair9 am127
5.4Fair10 am1711
5.8Good11 am1710
5.3Fair12 pm128
4.6Fair1 pm85
3.9Poor2 pm75
3.7Poor3 pm21
3.5Poor4 pm53
3.6Poor5 pm106
4.6Fair6 pm63
Fri
6.4Good8 am117
6.2Good9 am149
6.0Good10 am1711
5.6Good11 am1811
5.6Good12 pm2012
6.0Good1 pm2214
6.1Good2 pm2515
6.7Good3 pm2012
7.5Great4 pm148
6.9Good5 pm1811
6.4Good6 pm1811
Green, 7 and upYellow, 4 to 7Red, under 4Best stretch

Tide, next 24 hours

Tide falling now. Low at 2 am, -0.3 m. High at 8 am, 0.9 m. Low at 3 pm, -0.3 m. High at 9 pm, 0.7 mLow 2 am, -0.3 m1 ftHigh 8 am, 0.9 m3 ftLow 3 pm, -0.3 m1 ftHigh 9 pm, 0.7 m2 ftNow4 am10 am4 pm10 pm
  • Low 2 am, -0.3 m1 ft
  • High 8 am, 0.9 m3 ft
  • Low 3 pm, -0.3 m1 ft
  • High 9 pm, 0.7 m2 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 Pfeiffer Beach

Pfeiffer Beach is a beach in Big Sur Village, California. It spans 0.47 miles in length and covers an area of 11 acres. OpenStreetMap lists a paid parking area within 0.22 miles of the beach.

From Wikipedia

Pfeiffer Beach is located in the Big Sur region of California. It is one of the most popular beaches on the Central Coast and is well known for Keyhole Rock, a popular photography subject. On a limited number of days in December and January each year, photographers crowd the beach to obtain pictures of the setting sun visible through the arch. Due to the steep terrain prevalent along the Big Sur coast, it is one of the few ocean access points within Big Sur

Source: Pfeiffer Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; text may have been shortened. Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Data sources

Facilities

  • Restrooms360 m0.2 mi away
  • Parking3 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 360 m0.2 mi. Listed as paid

Getting there

Nearest town
3.6 km2.2 miBig Sur Village (village)
Nearest airport
39 km24 miMonterey Regional Airport (MRY)

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

Nearby beaches

Where to stay near the beach

Compare hotels and apartments near Pfeiffer Beach.

Partner links

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.

  • Fri7.5 GreatBest 3 pm to 6 pmWind up to 25 km/h15 mph, rain 2%
  • Sat8.2 GreatBest 10 am to 7 pmWind up to 13 km/h8 mph, rain 0%
  • Sun7.5 GreatBest 11 am to 12 pmWind up to 8 km/h5 mph, rain 0%
  • Mon7.2 GreatBest 12 pm to 7 pmWind up to 21 km/h13 mph, rain 0%
  • Tue7.2 GreatBest 8 am to 2 pmWind up to 31 km/h19 mph, rain 0%
  • Wed4.9 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 27 km/h17 mph, rain 1%