Staying Home Sucks, home
Ilwaco City Hall
Ilwaco, the nearest town. Photo: Steven Pavlov, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ilwaco

Kitesurf spot · United States

Is it worth the trip?

65Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Mon 9: 18 kn gusting 23, onshore, Water: waves 1.2 m

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 21 out of 100

Wind
E 11 kn
Gusts
15kn
Shore
side-on
Water
1.0 mwaves
Air
13°C

Wed 4 · 34 out of 100

Wind
S 13 kn
Gusts
16kn
Shore
side-on
Water
chop
Air
12°C

Thu 5 · 76 out of 100

Wind
SSW 15 kn
Gusts
19kn
Shore
side-on
Water
1.2 mwaves
Air
12°C

Fri 6 · 70 out of 100

Wind
SSW 26 kn
Gusts
34kn
Shore
side-on
Water
1.5 mwaves
Air
13°C

Sat 7 · 58 out of 100

Wind
S 12 kn
Gusts
15kn
Shore
side-on
Water
1.1 mwaves
Air
13°C

Sun 8 · 45 out of 100

Wind
SW 14 kn
Gusts
31kn
Shore
side-on
Water
1.3 mwaves
Air
13°C

Mon 9 · 90 out of 100

Wind
SSE 18 kn
Gusts
23kn
Shore
on
Water
1.2 mwaves
Air
13°C

Tap a day for wind, gusts, shore and air. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 244, poor
  2. Tue 321, poor
  3. Wed 434, poor
  4. Thu 576, good
  5. Fri 670, good
  6. Sat 758, fair
  7. Sun 858, fair
  8. Mon 990, good
  9. Tue 1097, good
  10. Wed 1187, good

The spot in six facts

  • Faces Sopen to the S
  • Best wind: W or Ealong the shore
  • Avoid: Nblows out to sea
  • Shelteredto the swell
  • Water 12 °C4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves
  • Best Dec–Jan3 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know gusts, offshore wind, tides or your skill.

Wind forecast and score for each day at Ilwaco
DayScoreWindGustsShoreWaterAir
Mon 2Nov44, poorwind from the east, 12 knots16knside-on0.9 mwaves13°C
Tue 3Nov21, poorwind from the east, 11 knots15knside-on1.0 mwaves13°C
Wed 4Nov34, poorwind from the south, 13 knots16knside-onchop12°C
Thu 5Nov76, goodwind from the south-south-west, 15 knots19knside-on1.2 mwaves12°C
Fri 6Nov70, goodwind from the south-south-west, 26 knots34knside-on1.5 mwaves13°C
Sat 7Nov58, fairwind from the south, 12 knots15knside-on1.1 mwaves13°C
Sun 8Nov58, fairwind from the south-west, 14 knots31knside-on1.3 mwaves13°C
Mon 9Nov90, goodwind from the south-south-east, 18 knots23knon1.2 mwaves13°C
Tue 10Nov97, goodwind from the south, 29 knots40knside-on2.0 mwaves13°C
Wed 11Nov87, goodwind from the south, 25 knots37knon1.8 mwaves13°C

Wind is the day's best reading, mean and gusts, in knots; the arrow points where it blows to. Shore "off" blows out to sea. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovHigh 06:34 +0.8 mLow 12:20 −0.4 mHigh 17:57 +0.8 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 00:47 −1.3 mHigh 07:32 +0.9 mLow 13:39 −0.7 mHigh 19:23 +0.8 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 01:50 −1.2 mHigh 08:22 +1.1 mLow 14:43 −0.9 mHigh 20:40 +0.8 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best Dec–Jan

Good kitesurf days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov2of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast. Reanalysis wind misses some local thermal winds, so a spot known for an afternoon breeze may do better than this.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More kitesurf near here

1 place

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Ilwaco

Known for kitesurfing and windsurfing, by the OpenStreetMap map of the area. The shore faces S, so wind from the N blows out to sea (our estimate from the coastline).

Water about 12°C: 4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

A spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing, as OpenStreetMap maps it, on a shore facing S. Wind from the S blows onshore, wind from the N blows out to sea, and wind from the W or E runs along the shore. It is sheltered to the open sea. The sea is about 8°C in February, its coldest month (5/4 or 6/5, hood, boots and gloves), and 15°C in July, its warmest (4/3 wetsuit and boots). For kitesurfing at expert level the best months are usually January and December, with about 3 good days in 7; in June, July and August, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ilwaco. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 2 wind sports spots.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,050–US$1,910 each

about US$1,050–US$1,910 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to PDX, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$248–US$517
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$302–US$503
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$637
Totalabout US$1,050–US$1,910

Kit hire is not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Ilwaco

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Ilwaco

about 5 min by car · 17 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 17 places to stay in Ilwaco · Booking.com

About Ilwaco its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 8h 45m

About 8h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PDX, direct, then 2h 40m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.