Check the Beach

Refugio State Beach

Santa Barbara County, California, United States

Refugio State Beach 1 photo

  • View from Refugio State Beach with skimmer in distance.

    View from Refugio State Beach with skimmer in distance.. Pacific Southwest Region USFWS from Sacramento, US, Public domain. 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 Refugio State Beach.

Partner links

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

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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
117 km/hmph WNW
Gusts
1811 km/hmph
Waves
1.1 m3 ft
UV
0 low
Tide
falling
Rain
12%
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 ftNow4 am10 am4 pm10 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.

About Refugio State Beach

Refugio State Beach is a state park in California, United States. It is located near Refugio Beach, approximately 850 feet away. Paid parking is available nearby, with two parking options within 0.31 miles.

From Wikipedia

Refugio State Beach (Chumash: Qasil, "Beautiful") is a protected state beach park in California, United States, approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Santa Barbara. One of three state parks along the Gaviota Coast, it is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of El Capitán State Beach.

The Refugio oil spill occurred just north of the park in 2015 when a pipeline carrying crude oil ruptured. The spill went into a culvert that ran under US 101 and into the ocean. The spill spread over 7 miles (11 km) of coastline, including Refugio and El Capitán state beaches.

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

Facilities

  • Restrooms150 m490 ft away
  • Parking2 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 130 m420 ft. Listed as paid

Getting there

Nearest airport
16 km10 miSanta Ynez Airport (SQA)

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

Nearby beaches