Upper Cathedral Rock
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
45Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 2: 4 ft swell at 10 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Mon 2 · 59 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 331kJ
- Wind
- NE 2 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Tue 3 · 44 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 smushy
- Energy
- 275kJ
- Wind
- S 7 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Wed 4 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 92kJ
- Wind
- WNW 13 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Thu 5 · 55 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 202kJ
- Wind
- W 7 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Fri 6 · 48 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 368kJ
- Wind
- WNW 14 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Sat 7 · 29 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 430kJ
- Wind
- SW 10 kn
- Temp
- 12°C
Sun 8 · 14 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 458kJ
- Wind
- SSE 6 kn
- Temp
- 12°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 138, too small
- Mon 259, fair
- Tue 344, poor
- Wed 420, too small
- Thu 555, fair
- Fri 648, fair
- Sat 729, poor
- Sun 814, poor
- Mon 936, too small
- Tue 1022, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 4–15 ftof swell
- Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
Full forecast
every day, every number
Upper Cathedral Rock does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 38, too small | 3 ft7 smushy1 ft at break (est.) | 81kJ | wind from the south-east, 3 knots | 17°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 59, fair | 4 ft10 ssoft2 ft at break (est.) | 331kJ | wind from the north-east, 2 knots | 17°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 44, poor | 4 ft10 smushy1 ft at break (est.) | 275kJ | wind from the south, 7 knots | 16°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 20, too small | 3 ft9 ssoft1 ft at break (est.) | 92kJ | offshorewind from the west-north-west, 13 knots, offshore | 17°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 55, fair | 5 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 202kJ | offshorewind from the west, 7 knots, offshore | 15°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 48, fair | 5 ft10 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 368kJ | offshorewind from the west-north-west, 14 knots, offshore | 17°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 29, poor | 5 ft9 ssoft1 ft at break (est.) | 430kJ | wind from the south-west, 10 knots | 12°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 14, poor | 6 ft9 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 458kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 6 knots | 12°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 36, too small | 4 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.) | 191kJ | wind from the east, 4 knots | 15°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 22, too small | 3 ft4 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 25kJ | wind from the south-east, 5 knots | 15°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 04:38 +1.2 mLow 10:20 −0.6 mHigh 16:17 +0.7 mLow 22:20 −1.2 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 05:21 +1.1 mLow 11:04 −0.6 mHigh 17:06 +0.7 mLow 23:07 −1.1 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 06:07 +1.0 mLow 11:51 −0.6 mHigh 18:05 +0.6 mLow 23:58 −0.9 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
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 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
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov0of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec0of 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
Upper Cathedral Rock on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
5 places
- Cathedral Rock 0.7 km away
- supertubes 2.3 km away
- Hunters 3.1 km away
- steppy's 3.5 km away
- Spout Creek 3.9 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Upper Cathedral Rock
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (132°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (312°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 4–15 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 750 m out (1 in 76). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 13°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Lorne, 5.2 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 8 surf spots and 3 wind sports spots.
Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. 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$1,920–US$3,660 each
about US$1,920–US$3,660 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 MDW to MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$958–US$2,000 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$355–US$596 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$596 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$141–US$234 |
| Total | about US$1,920–US$3,660 |
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
9 min by car · 43 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Lorne its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Fairhaven on Booking.com
13 min by car · 13 places to stay
- Beds in Aireys Inlet on Booking.com
17 min by car · 18 places to stay
About US$134 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 30h 15m
About 30h 15m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 25m by road
Flights MDW → MEL on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.