the beach today
San Francisco Guide

Ocean Beach
San Francisco

Cold Water Therapy

Three miles of wild Pacific beachfront stretching the length of Golden Gate Park -- relentlessly windswept, fogged-in half the year and home to a powerful surf that draws cold-water devotees from around the world. San Francisco's raw edge.

Today on the Sand

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Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & water temp

Parking Finder

Garages, lots & meters

Sunset

Sunset countdown & live cam

Dining

Where to eat after the sand

Things to Do

Cruises, sails & tours

Events

What's on this week

Beach Rules

Dogs, drinks, fires, drones

Pick Your Sand

north to south

Main Beach (Golden Gate Park stretch)

The broad central stretch backed by the park windbreaks

Classic

Kelly's Cove

Dedicated surf zone at the north end, popular year-round

Surfers

South End (near Sloat Blvd)

Quieter southern section near the SF Zoo and Fleishhacker Pool ruins

Quiet

North End (near Playland)

Wide sandy stretch near the old Playland-at-the-Beach site

Open

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Golden Gate Park

Adjacent

1,000-acre urban park with museums, gardens, bison paddock and lakes

Sutro Baths & Lands End

5 min north

Ruins of a Victorian-era public bathhouse carved into the coastal cliffs

Balboa Café

5 min east

Classic SF neighborhood bar and restaurant in the Inner Richmond

San Francisco Zoo

5 min south

Sloat Blvd zoo with penguins, gorillas and a historic carousel

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Ocean Beach San Francisco. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at Ocean Beach SF, the water is 61°F, surf is running 3–4 ft and the air is 65°F. Wind is 10 mph from the WSW and the UV index peaks at 5 (moderate) today. Unprotected fair skin burns in about 31 minutes right now. Today’s tides: High 5:52 AM, Low 9:55 AM, High 4:02 PM, Low 11:26 PM. Whether dogs are allowed here depends on which part of the beach you are on.