Steamer Lane Surf Report & Ideal Conditions
See your personalized forecast for Steamer Lane
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Download LazySurfer →Best conditions for Steamer Lane
Steamer Lane is most often good on a 2–4 ft short-period (under 8s) swell from the W, with glassy / no wind from the N, on a high outgoing tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest here.
| Ideal wave height | 2–4 ft |
| Ideal period | short-period (under 8s) |
| Best swell direction | W |
| Best wind | glassy / no wind from the N |
| Best tide | high & outgoing |
These best-conditions estimates come from real sessions LazySurfer users rated highly at this break — not an editorial guess (high-confidence read). In the app, LazySurfer's custom deep-learning model predicts your own 1–5★ rating at about 90% exact-match accuracy (97.6% within one star). How LazySurfer works →
Current conditions
Latest reading from the nearest NOAA buoys (UTC 2026-08-26 10:00 UTC). LazySurfer reads this same public NDBC data directly — no proprietary smoothing. New to buoy data? See how to read a NOAA buoy.
| Wave height | 3.9 ft |
| Dominant period | 6s |
| Swell direction | WNW (291°) |
| Wave buoy | NDBC station 46236 (14 mi away) |
| Wind | 14 kt from the NNW — NDBC 46092 (14 mi away) |
Steamer Lane 7-day surf forecast
Model wave & wind outlook for Steamer Lane from NOAA's GEFS-Wave model, refreshed daily. Heights are open-water swell (face heights at the break are typically larger).
| Day | Swell height | Period & direction | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed Aug 26 | 3–5 ft | 15s SSW | 4 kt ESE |
| Thu Aug 27 | 4–6 ft | 12s SW | 4 kt NE |
| Fri Aug 28 | 5 ft | 18s SSW | 6 kt SSE |
| Sat Aug 29 | 5–6 ft | 17s SSW | 6 kt S |
| Sun Aug 30 | 5–6 ft | 15s SSW | 7 kt SSW |
| Mon Aug 31 | 4–5 ft | 14s SSW | 8 kt W |
| Tue Sep 1 | 3–5 ft | 13s SSW | 6 kt WNW |
Tide
Predicted tide for the next two days from NOAA station 9413450 (MONTEREY, MONTEREY BAY), the nearest tide station (25 mi away). Times local.
- 2026-06-06 01:57 — High 4.394 ft
- 2026-06-06 09:41 — Low -0.062 ft
- 2026-06-06 17:07 — High 3.869 ft
- 2026-06-06 21:55 — Low 2.917 ft
- 2026-06-07 02:59 — High 3.964 ft
- 2026-06-07 10:21 — Low 0.258 ft
Frequently asked
Is Steamer Lane working right now?
As of the latest buoy reading (2026-08-26 10:00 UTC), Steamer Lane is looking good: the live 2–4 ft short-period swell from the W matches its ideal W direction and is in its ideal size range, and the wind is strong from the NW.
Is Steamer Lane good for beginners?
Steamer Lane is best for improving and intermediate surfers — it's most often good on 2–4 ft surf, manageable on its smaller days but a step up from true beginner conditions. Conditions change daily, so always check the live report on this page before paddling out.
What's the best tide for Steamer Lane?
Steamer Lane tends to be best on a high outgoing tide — the tide stage LazySurfer surfers have rated highest here. Tide changes how the swell breaks, so check the two-day tide chart on this page for today's high and low times.
What swell direction is best for Steamer Lane?
The best swell direction for Steamer Lane is from the west (W). Swell arriving from the west lines up best with how this break faces, which is when LazySurfer surfers have rated it highest.
What's the best wind for Steamer Lane?
Steamer Lane is most often good when it's glassy, with little to no wind — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have rated highest here. Light or offshore wind keeps the wave face clean; check the live report on this page for current wind.
Where does LazySurfer's surf data for Steamer Lane come from?
LazySurfer reads public data directly from NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and the National Weather Service — the nearest NDBC wave buoy (station 46236) and the nearest NOAA tide station (MONTEREY, MONTEREY BAY). The same raw readings NOAA publishes, with no proprietary smoothing.
Does LazySurfer predict whether Steamer Lane is good for me?
Yes. LazySurfer trains a custom deep-learning model — a PyTorch neural network with per-user embeddings, retrained weekly on real logged surf sessions from the LazySurfer community — to predict the 1-to-5 star rating you personally would give, rather than a single average rating for everyone.
Nearby spots
- Pleasure Point — 3 mi
- Capitola — 4 mi
- Marina State Beach — 21 mi
- Monterey Bay — 25 mi
- Monterey State Beach — 25 mi
More California surf: best surf spots in California · best surf spots for beginners in California
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