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NauticalNickVisibility Report

Campus Point Beach

Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara County · California

Diver reports today · zones from today’s forecast

Visibility Breakdown

Updated through the day · times PT

Visibility by position

Break Zone
9ft
today’s forecast
Post Break
headline zone
19ft
today’s forecast
Open Water
24ft
today’s forecast

Solid = diver report · outlined = today's forecast

Cross-section from the sand out to open water, split into 3 visibility zones: Break Zone (0-50 ft from shore), Post Break (50-200 ft from shore), Open Water (200+ ft from shore).
Shore
Break Zone
0-50 ft from shore
Post Break
50-200 ft from shore
Open Water
200+ ft from shore

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.

This chart shows measured diver reports only.

No measured readings today

Did you dive today?Please share the visibility to make our algorithm more accurate.

Report visibility
Entry type
Shore
Parking
Lot + street
Spearfishing
Prohibited · MPA
Stingray risk
Medium
Water quality
F · graded Oct 23
Difficulty
Intermediate
Popular activities
Surf · Snorkel · Scuba
Today's forecast

Why it reads 17–21 ft

Updated 6:10 AM PT today · October 27, 2026
Clean water
Helps vis
0.31 mg/m³
Moderate impact
Regional calibration correction
Helps vis
+9ft
Moderate impact
Moderate swell
Neutral
2.8 ft
Minor swell
Short-period chop
Hurts vis
5.0 s
Minor chop
Light wind
Helps vis
3 kt
Minor wind

Today's forecast runs

6 AM
19ft
Morning run
10 AM
—
Pending
1 PM
—
Pending

The clarity holds through the day, with a light afternoon onshore the only disturbance to the entry shallows.

Medium confidence

Ocean Oracle

7-Day Forecast

Days 2 to 7 are Pro

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.

Today · Tue
Oct 27
17–21ft
Excellent
Open Water 24 ft
Swell 3 ft at 5 s, wind 3 kt at 10 AM. No rain forecast.
Wed
Oct 28
14
Good
Open Water 21 ft
Thu
Oct 29
9
Fair
Open Water 14 ft
Fri
Oct 30
16
Excellent
Open Water 24 ft
Sat
Oct 31
19
Excellent
Open Water 27 ft
Sun
Nov 1
11
Good
Open Water 17 ft
Mon
Nov 2
13
Good
Open Water 20 ft
Unlock days 2 to 7
7-day forecasts come with Ocean Oracle Pro · $5/mo
Get Ocean Oracle →
Getting there

Map and parking

34.4069° N · 119.8428° W
Map of Campus Point Beach
Address
Santa Barbara County, CA
Parking
Lot + street

UCSB campus parking lots (paid; visitor permits required, free on weekends in some lots). Closest is Lot 6. Off-campus residential parking is hard to find during the school year.

See the offshore water on Pelagiscape →Clarity, temperature breaks and kelp off this beach.
Field notes

About Campus Point Beach

Campus Point Beach wraps around a low bluff at the eastern edge of the UC Santa Barbara campus, with the freshman dorms within walking distance of the trail down to the sand. The point is a well-known right-hand break: south and west swell bends around the headland into a long peeling right that holds shape across the tide, and the offshore kelp bed buffers the wind chop that closes out the rest of the Santa Barbara coast on a breezy afternoon. The lineup runs students, longboarders, and locals who first surfed the wave as undergraduates.

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Pelagiscape Offshore Map

One full-screen map of the water off all of California: satellite water clarity and temperature, temperature breaks, seafloor shading, depth lines, surface kelp, Marine Protected Areas, currents, wind, and swell. Save your spots as pins and get an email when a temperature break comes near them.

7-Day Forecasts

Visibility predictions for the entire week ahead at any beach. Plan dives, schedule charters, and book trips without guessing.

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