Ghost tree 92.2
#80 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇺🇸 United States of America · California · near Monterey
Works almost every day, no off season, thick rubber.
Best time to surf Ghost tree
The best time to surf Ghost tree is January, November, December. The season runs Sep to Mar. In November the water sits around 14°C, so pack a 4/3 with boots, and the typical wave is 1.6 m. The nearest airport is SJC (90 km) and the nearest town is Monterey (7 km).
| Month | Surfable | Clean | Size | Water | Suit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 98% | 63% | 2.2 m | 14°C | 4/3 |
| Feb | 99% | 50% | 1.9 m | 14°C | 4/3 |
| Mar | 100% | 48% | 1.9 m | 12°C | 5/4 |
| Apr | 100% | 37% | 1.7 m | 13°C | 4/3 |
| May | 100% | 22% | 1.7 m | 12°C | 5/4 |
| Jun | 100% | 14% | 1.5 m | 12°C | 5/4 |
| Jul | 100% | 20% | 1.3 m | 13°C | 5/4 |
| Aug | 100% | 26% | 1.2 m | 14°C | 4/3 |
| Sep | 100% | 50% | 1.3 m | 15°C | 4/3 |
| Oct | 99% | 48% | 1.5 m | 15°C | 4/3 |
| Nov | 99% | 73% | 1.6 m | 14°C | 4/3 |
| Dec | 99% | 53% | 2.1 m | 14°C | 4/3 |
Why 92.2
Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.
The detail
Faces 230° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 66% of days. Mean peak period 12.0 s. Days over 3 m: 4%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.6 m, with a peak period of 15 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 18%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 36.562, -121.952 (OpenStreetMap).
What it costs to be here
Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for United States of America (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.
Sumba has eight spots in this ranking, the best of them inside the world top 50. A cabin is €11,500. The land it sits on is separate, from €6,500 (€9,950 oceanfront), on an 80-year lease that extends at the end. Water, septic and electricity are another €6,500, and furniture is on top, so a finished cabin lands around €28,000 plus the land, payable in instalments.
Eco Beach City is run by the same people as SurfRanking, so treat this as our own advert, not a recommendation. It is an off-plan property in Indonesia: take your own legal and financial advice before paying anything.
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