San Onofre State Beach (Old Man's)
San Clemente · San Diego County · California
Visibility Breakdown
Visibility by position
Solid = diver report · outlined = our reading
Break Zone: The range of water where the waves break and sediment is stirred up.
Post Break: The range past where any waves are forming, where the water starts to have a significant increase in visibility. There might be some sediment here, but swell energy is diffused and the water is calmer.
Open Water: This zone is far out enough from the shore that the water is at its clearest. It’s deep enough that sediment is not disturbed by the wave energy at the surface. Haze can sit near the surface, so the water is usually clearer the deeper you go.
Through the day
Today's visibility readings at this spot, shown at the hour each one was taken.
Every bar is a reading for the Post Break zone.
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Coastal Bulletin
About San Onofre State Beach (Old Man's)
Current notices
Why it reads 19–23 ft
Medium confidence
7-Day Forecast
Today is the live headline above. Tomorrow onward is the algorithm's forecast from predicted swell, wind, and rain, updated each morning and at 6 PM Pacific.
Map and parking
San Clemente, CA 92672
One dirt road drops from the bluff to a lot that sits directly on the sand. Day use is $15, or $20 on peak days, and an annual California State Parks pass covers it. The road washed out in February 2024 and reopened that April, and continuing erosion has narrowed it enough that some pull-in spaces became parallel parking.
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See the offshore water on Pelagiscape →Clarity, temperature breaks and kelp off this beach.
About San Onofre State Beach (Old Man's)
San Onofre State Beach runs along a low bluff 3 miles south of San Clemente, on the ocean side of Old Highway 101 and just north of the shut-down San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The day-use surfing area divides into 3 named breaks, The Point at the north end, Old Man's in the middle, and Dogpatch closest to the plant. Old Man's is the name most people use for the whole beach. The waves are long and slow, which is why the beach suits beginners and longboarders and why it holds a place in the early history of West Coast surfing.
Species found here
Researched habitat and range candidates. A listed species may be seasonal or depth-limited; this is not a confirmed sighting at this location.
Spot strategies
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