I’ve been using Magicseaweed’s website since I lived in Oregon and surfed Pacific City back in 08’, probably before that but can’t remember when I started using surf forecasting (yes I was alive and surfing in the days before internet forecasting, back then the newspaper-I am from Cape Fear region of North Carolina-was the source for a forecast, though then, as now, the most accurate forecast is still on sight forecasting), but its always been spot on in terms of predicting groundswell, there isn’t a surf forecasting program alive that I know of that accurately predicts wave height, which is a fickle thing depending as it is on so many factors including shifting sandbars in both NC and Oregon. When I say spot on I mean accurate for groundswells days in advance in my experience...it also has useful information about the various surf spots in your area and includes historical data, all for free. The historical data is quite interesting as it gives you the statistical average percentage of rideable wave each month going back to like 2007 for some spots, along with percentages of ground swell vs. windswell, average height of swell/wave for that month and average height for each day and maximum height each day. This is free!! Other forecasting sites don’t even do this at all. It’s not my go to for general weather forecasting, for that I use Windy, but for it niche, its the best you can find.
The app is/was easier to use/better set up than Surfline. I get they merged but would be nice to still have the option for the traditional view. I still had the MS app on this phone and was able to use it since the merge. I had no option but download the SL app on my new phone last month. The only way I could get it to work was sign up. Give my email. I had already signed up years ago but didn’t like the SL app and went back to MS. I had forgot the password and used the reset. The feature was buggy and took 4 times to get it to work. Sorry for the long winded review but what it comes down to. The free Magic Seaweed app was far better than tge free Surfline app and you didn’t have to sign up to use it. Hopefully the SL app will improve with time but for now it’s a 1 star app in my opinion.
I live a couple hours from the beach these days, so I pay for the premium 14 day report. For 3 bucks, it’s fully worth it. I’m busy, so it’s hard to plan surf trips. This app makes it much easier. It’s accurate most of the time, as accurate as a 14 day report can be. The only complaints are small and won’t matter for most. I do wish the app said which way the wind is blowing in relationship to the shore. It says the direction, but in Cali, not all beaches face west, so it would be nice to get a better description. That said, I’m sure if I weren’t so bad with a compass, I could figure it out. Many will scoff at this gripe, I’m sure. The other thing is the “nearby” feature. There’s straight up nothing there for any beach I’ve been too. Now perhaps it’s up to a business to add their info, which I understand. But if businesses don’t want to participate, perhaps just ditch the feature all together. All around, this app does what it’s supposed to do. I’m definitely pleased with the service at this price point. Bottom line: I recommend the premium version of this app. The free one is good too if all you need is a week.
I live and surf in Texas where our surf has some hidden gems. You have to be very knowledgeable to know where to find tubes, offshore winds, and quality uncrowded surf. I’ve used MSW for a few years now and noticed that the report is updated pretty frequently - a pro. I’ve also noticed that whoever makes the report doesn’t quite understand how swell hits different spots along the Texas coast - a con. For any surfer who knows something about Texas surf, he knows to pay little mind to MSW’s forecast and to just look at the swell and swell direction. I think that for any forecast everything else is pretty much impossible to predict with any certainty. MSW has plenty of forecasts in surf spots along the Texas coast, but they usually get everything wrong about the descriptions of the spots. Other than usually giving you an idea of when there’s going to be surf, MSW doesn’t really do much else unless it’s about the day before you plan to surf. MSW is easy to use, has a ton of features and cams and is helpful when planning trips. Would definitely recommend to anyone; even though it has its imperfections.
No an easy feat to provide perfectly accurate surf forecasting for my area (NJ), however MSW seems to do a good enough job getting the gist across. The charts are high quality and they give you a good idea of what’s going on out there. wind is tough to forecast around here sometimes so I don’t want to blame them when their forecast is wrong but some real-time updates would be nice. like when it says it should be blowing 9mph SW but it’s actually blowing 30 mph ESE. Pretty frustrating. All the forecast tables are very user friendly and In depth however I really dislike the 6am 12pm 6pm layout. I think it would just make so much more sense to have 12am in there. even though you might not want to get out there and surf at 12am it’s still important to know what’s going on, I also think it just makes more sense report on even six hour intervals. Food for thought. Great app overall. Just wanna see some waze type of interactive live forecasting and a slightly more sensible forecasting table.
MSW consistently gets 8 out of ten points for accuracy. And that’s the BEST anyone should reasonably expect unless you are living at the break that’s being forecasted. For a model based system, they are the very best IMO. Sand, currents and wave directions do shift quickly which always alters current local conditions. Model based interpolations can’t be expected to reflect those nuances. While driving to your local break for a look works best for me, the combination of MSW and another site called “Windy” work great in tandem. Although both use different base data to create their respective models, and both are the best at what they do, combining each on any given day gives me the best model based analysis.
Since I live in Seattle, every time I go surfing, I have a choice to surf the straight (northern coast of the Olympic peninsula) or go to the ocean just south of the peninsula. When this app says that Crescent Beach or Twin Rivers is having a 5 star day, it’s a little shorter of a hike for us to get some good waves. There have been a handful of times that we have been skunked just taking this apps ratings heading there. Because the difference is about a 4 hour drive, if we make a wrong decision due to an inaccurate prediction, the day is spent. I understand that it’s hard to predict but it seems like there is information that’s being taken from the coast and applied to the spots on the straight of Juan De Fuca. It can be firing on the coast and dead on the straight depending on swell direction. If more attention could be paid to that, this app would have a 5 star review from me.
I like the app…it is free, easy to use, and I get the information I’m looking for on this site. How big the waves are, how much wind, and when it is happening. I live 15 miles inland, I can look up local beaches for info I want. I can choose what beach I want to go to given that info. I also appreciate it goes out 10 days. I can plan my trips accordingly. This year the waves on the Oregon coast are not all that impressive, as far as size. I want North Shore waves, but alas don’t live in Hawaii anymore. I watch it because I don’t want to miss a big swell when it does happen. Thank you for doing such a great job. I’m happy I have this app! Cynthia Muscat Mapleton, OR
Interested to see what the merge with Surfline does. I live in Texas where the surf is very inconsistent and magicseaweed is perfection, free reasonably accurate forecast, I like scrolling through the uploaded user pics of that spot, and always make not of the advice MSW gives you about a particular spot. I have a 4 hour drive to the coast so it’s not just hop in my truck when the surf is good, plus I work a Mon- Fri. $30 a month for Surfline is not justifiable when I’m only able to go once every 1-2 months. Hoping the merge doesn’t start requiring payment for a forecast past 1 day like Surfline.
I like using Magic Seaweed because it’s always true to it’s reporting. I can trust that when I head out for a session, that I’m not going to be disappointed and fun waves are to be had. Another great quality about MSW is the fact that you can setup pin points for your favorite breaks so that when you’re looking to find a particular break and how it’s working, wether traveling or in your local area, you can quickly make an informed decision to head to your favorite spot for the best action. The MSW app is always up to date and working properly.
For the most part I love this app and use it daily. However there are two annoying things I would love to see fixed. 1. When I switch to fullscreen webcam on my iPad I have to turn the iPad upside down in order to watch the webcam. Seems silly. It would also be nice to have a landscape view of the app so I can continue using my iPad as normal when checking the app. 2. It would be great if I could create a custom order for the favorite spots list. Thanks for your hard work on this app. I hope it continues to improve! 🤙
I’m a former surfer many years ago and now I am a photographer of many things waves being one. The information that you share is spot on and gives a great review of what’s to come i.e. the forecast. You have a very extensive number of locations to check out both in the United States and abroad. This is what you get when you are non-paying user. I can’t imagine what it would be like as a paying user, most likely even more awesome. Thank you for this website I hope you guys stick around for a long long time.
If you are a surfer this is the app you want because it shows you the best places too surf and it shows you how big the waves are out and how windy it is it shows you 𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤 of professionals on surf boards itssss just soooooo cooooool 🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄🏿🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄🏿🏄🏿🏄🏿🏄🏿🏄🏿🏄🏿🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄♂️🏄🏿🏄♂️😎😒😎🙁🙁😎😎😎😎😎😎😎🥸😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎🥸🥸🥸😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎 just trust me if you are a surfer you want this app i,m only 8 years old and i love this app because i lovvvvve surfin so much even my mom and dad have this app because its awsome surfs up and plus no adds for free.
But I love to watch them. We don’t get much of that on the Gulf of Mexico. I do like to walk on the beach every morning. I check this app for where the tide is (high or low makes a huge difference on the walk) I also like to go early so I check to see first light and sunrise. Finally on my Saturday morning beach read-a-thon, I can check and see where to put my chair so I don’t have to move 10 times. I have used so many other tide apps but this is by far the very best, and you don’t have to be a surfer to appreciate!
Tried them all... Magicseaweed has the best layout, best articles, and the most pleasing presentation of forecasts. The technical information takes a backseat to usability, but is still there if you want to nerd out. Above all Magicseaweed is most accurate, which makes living a greater distance from the shore easier to invest the time to drive to the beach for a session instead of wondering if I’m about to “make the best of it” or have wisely invested fuel and time pay out with decent surf. Never thought of seaweed as magical before, but now I’m convinced it is true!
The star rating isn’t dependable but the actual information on weather and ocean conditions is fairly accurate. I like the setup and can easily see what time tides are up and down, light and dark times as well. Plus they added more beach cams! One annoyance which isn’t on surfing info is the photo section. I live close to Oceanside Oregon and the page is blasted with people’s photos of Oceanside California. Most pictures are even labeled. It’s false advertising for our local beach but anyone who looks well enough can see it’s not Oregon. (No wetsuit or we don’t have pier’s). Same with Seaside Oregon.
Pros: long forecast, pretty accurate, mostly free, chill, doesn’t list a lot of local spots on map (have to look them up by name) which forces you to get to know the local community and culture more personally (if you weren’t already) if you want to know the spots, the name of the app Cons: No surf cams, no local/written reports; just data, misleading star ratings for spots on any given day (local reports or better system would give more relative/subjective ratings to the individual swell, could be accompanied by an objective universal rating), Overall, great app, but has much opportunity to grow.
Surfline has become an ad-riddled monetized mess putting up paywalls for basic information; I can’t even check water temp after opening the spot page 5 times in 1 week! Magic seaweed gives you everything you need to judge the surf. Sure they don’t have the daily in-person surf report, but if you know how what swell periods are and the difference between onshore & offshore winds you’ll be golden. If you can finesse some free surf cams for a somewhere else you’ve got yourself a formidable Surfline replacement.
Just my personal experience but I’m not the only one with this opinion. Surfline may have a bigger audience because they hit the scene first but that doesn’t mean they have the best or most accurate information. I rely on Magicseaweed and from my experience it’s been less disappointing and more satisfying than Surfline’s exaggerated reports. Life’s short so I don’t need to waste my precious time chasing waves that don’t exist. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I used to have to look up surf reports online until one of my coworkers showed me this app. You can add your favorite surf spots and get the current wave height for each of them on the same screen. I gave it five stars because there are no pop up advertisements. One suggestion I have now that iOS 14 supports widgets would be to make a widget for the Home Screen that displays wave height for specific surf spots. Thanks to everyone involved with creating this application and running MagicSeaweed, you rock! 🤙🏼
So I haven’t used magic seaweed a whole lot but I do think it’s very useful for finding surf locations. One thing I have noticed is that whenever you are reading the description of a beach is that if there is an apostrophe in a word, it’s replaced by symbols. Specifically †and a trade mark symbol. Here’s an example. If there's the word “aren’t” then it would be changed to “arenâ€TMt”. I find it distracting and it makes the text hard to read. Other than that it’s a great app! But please do fix this bug!
I’ve worked as a lifeguard at Atlantique for over 35 years and I can’t believe that we are on Magic seaweed Thanx it’s awesome I use your website all the time in the summer to check the waves and tides. I used fair harbor because it was the closest beach about a 1/2 mile away on the ocean. The new Atlantique tides should be almost the same but the tide table that is being used is on the bay side. Any way you can change it to the ocean tides. I would love to hear back from you. Ronnie
We love this app!!!! Find a webcam nearby and use it with this app to see if the report is true. Also really helps narrow down which days to pay attention to. We (my 8 year old surfs with me) check this app during the week and first thing when the weekend hits so we know what boards to bring. Haven’t gone to the Pro version yet but I’m so impressed with the free version that we’ll have to give the seven day trail a shot.
Great app - needs more clarification for new users
I love this app and I just got it. It gave accurate results the time I used it for Huntington Beach in California. The only thing wrong with the app is that, as a newer user, I don’t know what all the different conditions symbols mean. What’s “14s” mean? I know it means seconds but what does that mean out on the water? Or the arrow with a number with a degree under it? Otherwise I love the app and it has great metrics for people who are unfamiliar with it like myself and for people who are familiar with it. Thank you
All you need to stay up to date with all things surfing.
Great App! Fast, accurate and up to date information on current weather / wave conditions in your local surf spot or favorite spots around the globe. The news feed section provides interesting stories, videos and pictures that essentially serve as a quality surf magazine. A comments section helps connect you to the social media side of surfing as well.
MSW has been my go-to forecasting app for years. I do wish I could customize the settings to notify me if one of my saved spots is predicting a specific “star” rating in the forecast. Say one of my spots is gonna have a 3 or 4 star day, I’d like a push notification. The ability to pick which spots I get noticed on and pick what star rating I get noticed on (1-5) would be legit. Let’s make this happen MSW! (If I can already do this, cool. Please tell me how lol)
MSW has been my Go To for ages. MSW actually focuses on giving you a good product. Unlike other surf websites, MSW isn’t trying to constantly force me into a subscription. Weird, I know, but it’s nice when an app just does what it promises without ads and subscription offers popping up every 15 seconds. MSW doesn’t limit the number of surf reports and forecasts like that other surf site does. MSW simply just works and it works BEAUTIFULLY
I appreciate the info you provide to surfers; it is typically correct & useful. I live & surf year-round in Long Beach, NY. I have worked weekends as an ocean lifeguard & surfed during the summers at Jones Beach State Park, Robert Moses State Park, & Hither Hills State Park for the past 48 years. You may not be aware that your map places Jones Beach State Park incorrectly. West End, which is correctly located on your map is the west end of Jones Beach State Park. The east end of Jones Beach State Park is about 3-4 miles west of Tobay Beach, which is also correctly positioned on your map.
Why is it better than Surfline: you get 7 days on the free account! Want the pro account? It’s less than half the cost of Surfline for an annual subscription. Easier to use, doesn’t waste space and require tons of scrolling. Gets to the point, easier to find your spots, etc. I don’t even need a pro account but I’m buying one because I want to monetarily show my appreciation for the app.
I like most of y’all check MSW every day, but yall need to add the option of notifications when the swell is up in your area. You can add sliders to how big you want it to get before you are notified/ wind conditions etc. I surf, fish, skim pretty much every hobby i have is on the water and it would just be nice when im busy to have a notification go off and tell me a strong S wind is coming in if i got a early morning fishing trip planned.
Morbius intrigued me because of its underlying story that gave a thoughtful and pervasive comment on George Floyd’s death aswell as the holocaust. The story is a fresh take and can be compared to The Godfather, apocalypse now, and the emoji movie some of the all time classic of our generation. Rumor is that ray liottas actual cause of death was at his utter sexual thrills being met by the movie, he could not survive the morbussy. My morbussy was soaked by the time ended and everytime I finger myself now I will be thinking of the movie.
I loved this app until you required me to purchase the pro package to view the cameras! Why was it ok to have free access to the cameras for all those years and now it must be purchased? I patiently watched the advertisements and was happy to watch the ads in order to see the live camera feeds. Shame on you for taking that away, especially in this economy. Even a few dollars a month is more than we can afford. It is obvious that you care more about increasing your profits than helping surfers and beach goers know where best to go and enjoy the surf. I have erased your app from my phone; you will no longer have the privilege of my support.
As a SCUBA diver, I always check the weather and the waves along with the swells to see if it’s gonna be a good dive day. It would be nice to know water temperature, jelly fish/sealice warnings and local Inlet waves. In coming/outgoing tides. I personally have been out attempting to go through an inlet where MSW has said FLAT and the waves were so big we were nearly capsized. That is scary to depend on a website and have that happen. These additions would be nice.
So much better than any surf forecast app i’ve ever tried. i’m not a huge surfer, but i like to look at the forecast and plan when i can go ride the waves. with magicseaweed, it’s so much easier to plan and with this app then any other. it’s so easy and so accurate! the only complaint i have is it’s in celsius instead of fahrenheight, which is announcing because you have to google the conversions, but it’s the best and i totally recommend! ;)
Surfline Used to be great. But now it just feels like a huge corporation. Only today forecasts and expensive monthly fees for premium. And don’t forget the inaccurate wave reviews. But Magic seaweed has everything surfline has and better. Seven day forecast for free that feel accurate and have more information. They have more surf spots and a great description. The website was a little tricky at first but now I love it. Get magic see weed!
This is honestly the best tide app I can find out there. It gives you specific spots all along San Diego; all the other apps only have one or two stations along Southern California. It also describes each beach, with photos. It’s super easy to read, easy to navigate! I’m really bummed this app is going away. I have searched so many apps out there, and I cannot find a single one that compares to this.
Love the weeklong forecasts, wish more accuracy & spots around Lake Michigan
The app works well, looks decent, is easy to use, has a nice weeklong forecast and other helpful features, and fairly often gets the forecast right. My main complaints are that it often seems to lag quite a bit behind the buoy reports and NOAA info, and it doesn’t have forecasts for many of the best areas to surf in the Great Lakes. St Joe and Holland in Michigan would be really nice, and there should be at least a couple of spots along Door Co in Wisconsin.
2021: I’ve started using MS about a month ago to give me an idea of the surf conditions at Doheny, since I’m just learning to surf. It takes a bit of understanding the forecast, but it seems to be accurate: tides, swells, wind. So I always know what to expect. 2023: I still refer to Magic seaweed for surf conditions in Oceanside. The Mobile app lacks the following: converting temp to Fahrenheit, hourly forecast of surfing conditions.
Where all else fails, MSW rises above a sea of inaccurate predictions and over priced models. I always preferred magic seaweed over the others, but when swellinfo went down for a few years and Surfline locked anything beyond a 2 day forecast behind a paywall the choice became a no brainer. Simple and clean layout, and it’s easy to find any info you need within. Highly recommend.
The forecast is accurate most of the time, and that’s from someone who lives in a very fickle and spotty area. Much better of a deal than surfline is. If you’re between the two, this is definitely the better option in my opinion. My only issue with it is that sometimes the cams go down for weeks on end and I have to go to the websites the cams are streamed from to see the live feed.
Really appreciate the maps and overview of spots. Growing up in a heavily localized area you were told to keep quiet about spot locations. You folks have opened the doors and changed the game. Don’t have to waste hours trying to locate spots anymore. Times are changing and folks are being more open with their local surf breaks. Ignore the haters and keep up the good work
The fact that this is available for free, essentially anywhere in the world, and covers a significant percentage of all Surf breaks is amazing. I’m only giving it four stars because the accuracy can still fluctuate more than is desirable, but it is absolutely better than nothing and hopefully your team will continue to work to improve its accuracy, as it is already a very valuable tool in surf forecasting
I’ve used magic seaweed for a few years now and it is always the first app I check. It’s views are simple and clear and accurate. If things look interesting on a specific day I validate the forecast with other apps. I have to drive 2 hours to surf so accuracy is vital. I definitely consider this the best all around most user friendly.
I don’t understand a lot of the intricacies of Surf reports so I am basically looking at things like water temperature, wave height, and wind direction. Magic SeaweedProvides all of that and more in a basic easy to access app. I appreciate that I can get the basic information for free. Other apps and programs charge money for basically the same information and seem to have more complicated programs.
I know most people wouldn’t think of Chicago as place were people are using this app but they would be wrong. Paddle boarding/surfing, windsurfing, and Kitesurfing are huge sports here. The rules are strict here as far as where one can “launch” their boards. In fact the two beaches are Montrose beach and North Avenue beach. This is also where we store our equipment. You have North Ave. listed but Montrose beach. This would be in my opinion the best app out there if only Montrose Beach in Chicago was listed which is the Number 2 spot for this sport in Chicago. Is there anything that could be done to add Montrose to app.? Thanks
I like the interface and the stars. I wish it had a way to sort for the best spot at a certain time and day. I have lots of favorites but really only interested in the ones nearby today. Also it would be nice to have an indicator of how choppy and messed up it’s going to be. You should be able to tell by the timing of the swell.
Definitely like the app very reliable and accurate as of wave height and wind always use this app before making several hour trips to any destination it’s better than winging it and being disappointed when the weather and water isn’t what is says it’s suppose to be like many other apps! All around great app!
This is an awesome app, especially for a noob like myself. Gives me an idea of what I’m getting into and has given me a closer understanding of the relationship between wind speed/direction, tides, and wave period (speed), to know what conditions are optimal for me. I go out regardless, but it’s nice to know, even after a session, how the conditions impacted my time on the water. Thanks so much!!
I appreciate how accurate you guys are compared to Surfline in the Oregon area. I wish you guys had more cams to view in the Oregon area though. I feel like the star system is hard to gauge at times too, I’ve been on days where it was forecasted at 5 stars that were much worse than 3 star days so to somehow streamline that would be helpful. Thanks for all you guys do though
Pretty good forecasting. Would be more willing to pay if I knew my $$ were for forecasting and not articles. At least the marketing toned down from a few years ago pumping up pro surfers. I had pro version, but not willing to pay it any longer. I just want conditions. Stick to conditions and make the annual fee less, you will get more subscribers. We don’t want to fund surf explorers or influencers.
Magicseaweed has joined Surfline and the MSW app is no longer being supported. You can now get all your favorite features on Surfline: Keep track of current surf conditions. -View live surf cams at 950+ breaks around the world. -Get daily surf reports from our team of experts. -View wave height, live wind, weather, water temperature, and tide. -Choose to get notified when the conditions are perfect at your favorite spots with Surf Alerts. -View detailed buoy charts and nearshore models. Plan future surf adventures. -Use 16-day long-range forecasts to plan ahead. -Read swell analysis from our in-house forecasting team. Relive your sessions and watch your waves. -Use Cam Rewind to watch and download your best waves (and wipeouts). -Sync your Apple Watch to log Surfline Sessions and get your waves sent straight to your phone. -View detailed analysis of waves ridden, length of ride, and speed. -Share your rides with friends and on social media. Shop top-quality surf essentials. -Shop a selection of surfboards, wetsuits, surf accessories, and other gear. -Save up to $60 on every order. (Premium only) -Get free shipping on every order. (Premium only) -View gear guides, reviews, and other gear-related stories. Stay connected to all things surf. -Watch the world’s best waves with live coverage of major swell events. -Read up on the latest surf news, travel, training, and gear content. Search for ‘Surfline’ on the App Store to download. -- MSW Pro Subscriptions and Renewals Magicseaweed Pro Subscriptions are no longer available to purchase for most subscribers as part of the migration to Surfline. MSW Pro subscribers now have access to a Surfline Premium membership until the end of their current MSW Pro subscription term. Unless auto-renewal is turned off through iTunes account settings, the Surfline Premium membership will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of your current MSW subscription term. Full terms and conditions can be found at https://magicseaweed.com/legal/terms-and-conditions-of-use/.
