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Sunset Beach usa north OC 69.3

#2435 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇺🇸 United States of America · California · near Long Beach

Very consistent, no off season, gentle enough to learn.

Works all yearBeginner friendlyBeginner
Sunset Beach usa north OC, United States of America
Photo: Sergei Gussev · CC BY 2.0 · source · photo taken 1.3 km from the spot
Surf score69.3 /100
Surfable days86% of the year
Clean days34% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell35% period 11 s+
Typical size0.8 m 2.6 ft median
Water19°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf Sunset Beach usa north OC

The best time to surf Sunset Beach usa north OC is April, May, June. The season runs Apr to Jul. In May the water sits around 18°C, so pack a 3/2 wetsuit, and the typical wave is 0.9 m. The nearest airport is SNA (20 km) and the nearest town is Long Beach (14 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan70%21%0.7 m17°C3/2
Feb63%18%0.7 m17°C3/2
Mar90%38%0.8 m17°C3/2
Apr98%55%0.9 m18°C3/2
May99%59%0.9 m18°C3/2
Jun99%46%0.8 m19°C2mm
Jul94%45%0.8 m21°C2mm
Aug94%30%0.8 m22°Cvest
Sep95%43%0.8 m21°C2mm
Oct89%30%0.7 m20°C2mm
Nov68%15%0.7 m19°C3/2
Dec70%15%0.7 m18°C3/2

What is under Sunset Beach usa north OC

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 14 m.

Depth 8 km out14 m
Depth 4 km out14 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 69.3

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.

Wave quality 34.7%
17.9
Best days 22.4%
5.5
Clean days 18.4%
15.8
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
2.5
Access 4.1%
4.0

The detail

Faces 230° with 39% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 99% of days. Mean peak period 13.2 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.1 m, with a peak period of 16 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 91%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 33.715, -118.070 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€2,460/ month
typically €2,160 – €2,760
Rent, one bedroom€1,290
Groceries€517
Eating out€295
Getting around€172
Phone + internet€184
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€4,800/ month
typically €4,220 – €5,370
Somewhere to stay€2,830
Eating out€1,010
Car, transfers, fuel€652
Data + extras€308
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 23% above the country average. 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.

Our own project · Sumba, Indonesia
Own a cabin on a surf coast in Sumba

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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