Finding the pulse of the reef...
This week
snorkel & freedive readBest day this week: Saturday, all day.
Next 12 hours
Rain now, storms moving in around 4 PM.
Conditions
Visibility, water, current, and wind. The in-water read.
Visibility
Poor
Strong onshore — blown out · Recent / incoming rain
Water
75°
2–3 mm
Current
0.5 kt
gentle drift
Surge
3.7s
minimal
Wind
17 mph
onshore S
Visibility is an estimate — wind, rain, tide & water alerts.
The spot
The things that stay true when the weather changes.
An exposed beach break that can work on any tide and at any time of year, best with a south-southeast groundswell meeting an offshore wind out of the northwest. The wave breaks mostly left, closest to the jetty at Beach 90th and Beach 92nd Streets. Surf-Forecast finds the cleanest, most consistent waves in September. Water runs about 70 F in summer and drops close to freezing in winter, when a thick wetsuit is standard.
Free NYC Parks lot at Beach 95th Street, a few blocks from the surf zone, plus free street parking along the peninsula. A second free lot serves the park's far east end, Beach 11th to Beach 15th Street.
Checked 2026-08-27. Sources: NYC Parks: Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk, NYC Parks: Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk beach status and designated-use zones, NYC Parks: Rockaway Surf Beach Rules (PDF), The New York Times, City Room: Catching Waves in the Rockaways (2008), SurferToday: Rockaway Beach, the heart of surfing in New York City, Surf-Forecast: Rockaway.
Tides & Sky
When the water moves, and how bright the night.
Best in-water window
1:24 PM – 3:24 PM
Low slack · Sun high · Least current
Slack tide means least current and the clearest water — best around the turn, in good light.
High
8:24 PM
6.165ft
Low
3:00 AM
0.056ft
Full Moon
100%
Daylight: 13h 18m · UV 6 Moderate
Life
The reef keeps its own calendar.
No recent observations
Great Blue Heron · Buff-breasted Sandpiper · Common Loon · Common Loon · Ring-billed Gull
Regulations
Take only what the season allows.
We've only loaded detailed seasons & limits for South Florida so far. For New York, check the official source before you fish:
New York saltwater regulationsOfficial source: NYSDEC· opens the agency site
Watch from shore today — let it blow through.
Snorkel: poor viz, warm 75 F water, 1-2 ft waves, 17 mph onshore wind.
Best window: 1:24 PM–3:24 PM · Low slack · Sun high · Least current