Arnold
Surf spot · United States
Is it worth the trip?
35Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 2: 3 ft swell at 12 s
Mon 2 · 60 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft12 scrumbling
- Energy
- 184kJ
- Wind
- WSW 4 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Tue 3 · 42 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft11 ssoft
- Energy
- 157kJ
- Wind
- NE 4 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Wed 4 · 30 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft11 scrumbling
- Energy
- 89kJ
- Wind
- NNE 7 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Thu 5 · 24 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 40kJ
- Wind
- NE 6 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Fri 6 · 22 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 scrumbling
- Energy
- 45kJ
- Wind
- NE 6 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Sat 7 · 23 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft12 scrumbling
- Energy
- 40kJ
- Wind
- NE 9 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Sun 8 · 15 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft10 scrumbling
- Energy
- 24kJ
- Wind
- ENE 11 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 120, too small
- Mon 260, good
- Tue 342, too small
- Wed 430, too small
- Thu 524, too small
- Fri 622, too small
- Sat 723, too small
- Sun 815, too small
- Mon 913, too small
- Tue 1022, too small
The spot in six facts
- Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
- Offshore: NEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–10 ftof swell
- Water 18 °C2 mm shorty
- Best Jan, Jul, Oct2 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 20, too small | 3 ft12 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 168kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 10 knots | 20°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 60, good | 3 ft12 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.) | 184kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 4 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 42, too small | 3 ft11 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 157kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 4 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 30, too small | 2 ft11 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.) | 89kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-east, 7 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 24, too small | 2 ft9 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.) | 40kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 6 knots, offshore | 22°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 22, too small | 2 ft10 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.) | 45kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 6 knots, offshore | 23°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 23, too small | 1 ft12 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.) | 40kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 9 knots, offshore | 26°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 15, too small | 1 ft10 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.) | 24kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 11 knots, offshore | 27°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 13, too small | 1 ft11 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.) | 15kJ | wind from the west, 1 knot | 25°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 22, too small | 2 ft10 scrumbling1 ft at break (est.) | 48kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 2 knots, offshore | 24°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovHigh 03:50 +0.3 mLow 07:52 +0.1 mHigh 13:54 +0.7 mLow 21:31 −0.9 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 04:40 +0.4 mLow 09:50 −0.1 mHigh 15:29 +0.6 mLow 22:30 −0.8 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 05:19 +0.6 mLow 11:09 −0.3 mHigh 16:50 +0.5 mLow 23:20 −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 Jan, Jul, Oct
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Arnold on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
5 places
- Silverstrand 6.7 km away
- Hollywood Beach 8.1 km away
- Murphy's 10 km away
- Point Mugu 10.2 km away
- Oxnard Shores 10.9 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Arnold
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (210°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (30°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 650 m out (1 in 63). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 14°C in March, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 20°C in July, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, July and October, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Port Hueneme, 4.5 km away (about 10 min by car).
Water about 18°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
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$1,200–US$2,160 each
about US$1,200–US$2,160 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
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 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to SBA, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$255–US$529 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$154–US$255 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$301–US$502 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$342–US$636 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$147–US$241 |
| Total | about US$1,200–US$2,160 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 3 towns
8 min by car · 7 places to stay
about US$114/nightcountry average
About Port Hueneme its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Oxnard on Booking.com
15 min by car · 5 places to stay
- Beds in Ventura on Booking.com
38 min by car · 32 places to stay
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 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 7h 50m
About 7h 50m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → SBA, direct, then 1h 25m by road
Flights ORD → SBA on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.