Surfing Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Surf.com is here to help you surf the Fort Lauderdale area and the surrounding cities. We’re sharing over 30 years of valuable local surfing knowledge right here.

When’s the best time of the year to Surf in South Florida?

This one is pretty easy, surf when you see waves. Duh..  Just kidding, winter is generally considered the best time for surf in Fort Lauderdale. Our main surf season runs from Sept. through the end of April, but you can get lucky and find some surf in South Florida other times of the year too. 

Surfing Fort Lauderdale September – November

 Good surf in Sept. is usually generated from tropical activity in Fort Lauderdale. It doesn’t take a hurricane to produce good waves in South Florida. Tropical waves and tropical storms will likely produce several days of fun waves in our region.  It’s a good idea to keep informed about all the tropical activity in the vicinity to see when the surf will come up.  Towards the end of hurricane season we will usually start seeing cold fronts approach South Florida, these cold fronts can provide some of the best surf in South Florida. 

Surfing Fort Lauderdale December – March

Winter is the heart of the surf season for South Florida.  Cold fronts are the main driver of good surf in South Florida. The stronger and colder the better. While the water never really gets cold in South Florida, our average winter water temps are still in the 70’s. The air can get quite chilly after a big cold front. It’s not uncommon for the air to be in 40’s – 50’s for a dawn patrol morning session during the heart of winter. Combine that temperature with a gusty 20 mph NW wind and most people will want to have some type of wetsuit to stay warm. Many people can get by with a wetsuit top and shorts, or a “spring” suit, short arm / short leg wetsuit. There’s usually a couple mornings every year where you will be glad you have a long sleeve spring suit or a fullsuit for sure.  Cold front swells are usually clean with offshore winds out of the NW. A typical cold front swell will likely last 1 -2 days and then turn choppy once the wind clocks around North East.  Some of the best areas in South Florida for this type of surf is from Palm Beach thru Miami. Depending on the conditions the wind / swell angle will usually make some beaches bigger and better than others.  Some of the best cities for winter surf include, Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Delray Beach, Boca / Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach and even South Beach Miami on rare occasion.  

Surfing Fort Lauderdale April – May

It’s the end of the cold front swells, but we usually have a couple late season fronts and some good pressure gradients that will provide some fun wind chop to surf.  There are many places in the world where the surf turns to junk the moment the wind gets on it. Luckily South Florida / Fort Lauderdale is not one of the places. Our windchop is actually pretty fun and performance oriented, there are some steep sections that stand up for great maneuvers.  Many South Florida surfers say that if you can learn to surf these types of waves you can surf anything. Knowing summer is right around the corner you don’t take any waves for granted this time of the year, if you see waves, go surf. 

Surfing Fort Lauderdale June – August

Summer surfing in South Florida is usually pretty limited. It’s a good time to grab a big longboard or a Softie and go play in some small surf.  Surfers will plan trips to central America or other locations with better surf this time of year.  If you’re unable to travel to surf, just take advantage of all the fun things to do in the ocean, fish, snorkel, dive and more. Just be ready for some small scale surf to keep you tuned up.

Ocean Bottom Types

99% of the Surfing in South Florida takes places over sand bottoms. There are only a few surf spots in the area that have rocks or coral bottoms. Many beaches will have a steep drop off right off the beach that will lead to a much shallower sandbar further offshore, this is generally where the waves are breaking. These sandbars are constantly shifting, so staying upto date on which beach has the best sandbar is a never ending hunt.

Water Clarity and Temperature

South Florida and the Fort Lauderdale area lie pretty close to the gulfstream. This keeps the water fairly clear and even though the ocean gets churned up while there are onshore winds the visibility is usually pretty good. One thing that sets South Florida apart from the rest of the country is that we have some of the warmest water in the whole country.

The water temperature in Fort Lauderdale, Florida varies throughout the year depending on the season. In the summer months (June through September), the water temperature typically ranges from the mid-80s to low-90s Fahrenheit (30-35 Celsius). In the winter months (December through March), the water temperature tends to be cooler, ranging from the mid-70s to low-80s Fahrenheit (24-29 Celsius).

Keep in mind that these are just general guidelines and the actual water temperature can vary depending on a variety of factors, including the location, depth, and time of day. It is always a good idea to check the current water temperature before going surfing or participating in any other water activities.

Surf Smart and Safe. Here is the guide from the city of Fort Lauderdale about Ocean Safety.