Florida / St. Johns County / Matanzas Inlet
Atlantic coast · Crescent Beach
Matanzas Inlet surf spot
“Keep heading north up A1A and you'll hit another classic Florida break at the south end of Crescent Beach, Matanzas.”
From VISIT FLORIDA, read 2026-11-03. 1 more source below.
How to get there
Access point: Matanzas Inlet, Crescent Beach, St. Johns County. Location as mapped on OpenStreetMap (29.70621, -81.22571), looked up 2026-11-03.
Parking, bathrooms and the essentials
- Parking
- Not stated in the sources read for this page.
- Restrooms
- Not stated in the sources read for this page.
- Showers
- Not stated in the sources read for this page.
- Lifeguards
- Not stated in the sources read for this page.
- Hours
- Not stated in the sources read for this page.
Which way it faces
Worked out from which way the beach faces
106° east-southeast (ESE)
Swell that lines up: from 71° to 141° (ENE to SE), the dark blue wedge. Swell from up to 26° and 186° (NNE and S) can still reach the beach at an angle; outside that, it is blocked by Florida itself.
Offshore wind: from about 286° (west-northwest), the orange dashes. Wind from WSW through NNW blows off the land.
This is geometry, not local knowledge: the seaward direction of the OpenStreetMap coastline next to the spot (this way), checked 2026-11-03. It ignores sandbars, jetties, shoals, islands. The sources below beat it where they disagree.
Check it before you call in
- Buoy: NDBC 41117, St. Augustine, FL (194), 35.5 km away. Wave height, period and direction in real time. How to read it.
Open buoy 41117 - Tides: NOAA station 8720692, Matanzas Inlet, State Road A1A Bridge, 0.3 km away.
Tide predictions · Station page - Surf zone forecast: NWS Jacksonville (JAX), the office that covers this beach. Rip current risk, surf height and the forecast discussion.
Surf zone forecast · Rip current safety
Links chosen by distance from NOAA's own station lists; checked 2026-11-03.
What the sources say
- Tide
High tide is best.
Source: VISIT FLORIDA, "Florida's Best Surf Spots", read 2026-11-03 - Crowd
On the north side of the inlet, you'll find lots of surfers on longboards.
Source: VISIT FLORIDA, "Florida's Best Surf Spots", read 2026-11-03 - Hazard
A few spots along this part of the coast are threatened: pollution in Jacksonville, development and fill in St. Augustine, and dredging/fill at Matanzas Inlet.
Source: Beachapedia (Surfrider Foundation), "State of the Beach/State Reports/FL/Surfing Areas - Beachapedia", read 2026-11-03
Sources
- Florida's Best Surf Spots, VISIT FLORIDA, read 2026-11-03.
Keep heading north up A1A and you'll hit another classic Florida break at the south end of Crescent Beach, Matanzas.
- State of the Beach/State Reports/FL/Surfing Areas - Beachapedia, Beachapedia (Surfrider Foundation), read 2026-11-03.
A few spots along this part of the coast are threatened: pollution in Jacksonville, development and fill in St. Augustine, and dredging/fill at Matanzas Inlet.
- OpenStreetMap: location. OpenStreetMap waterway/river "Matanzas Inlet", looked up through Nominatim.
Something wrong or out of date? Email israel@y00r.com. More St. Johns County spots: St. Johns County surf spots.