Dawn patrol surfing in Monterey

Monterey, California

Recommendations refresh every 30 minutes based on tide, wind, and crowd telemetry from Quiver.

First light in Monterey means glass, empty peaks, and the best conditions of the day before thermal onshores build. These 1 spots are worth the 5am alarm.

Next steps

Keep planning Monterey

Use this dawn patrol guide as the filter, then jump to live spots, tides, or the seasonal window.

Check live Monterey spotsSee the local breaks and current surf conditions.Open pageFind the best surf windowCompare today's call with the seasonal pattern.Open pageWatch the tide windowUse tide timing before you commit to a spot.Open page

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Featured Beaches(1)

Del Monte Beach

Beginner friendly

Monterey beach-break and sandbar zone. Del Monte is an exposed beach break and sandbar with winter as the favored season.

Today's dawn patrol plan in Monterey

Best window

8:30 PM–9:30 PM

incoming tide

Top picks

1Del Monte Beach
0.5 ft11 mph
Glassy morning conditions before onshore windsLess crowded lineups at sunriseEast-facing beaches for sunrise viewsSpots with easy parking for early arrivals

Dawn patrol access guide for Monterey

Parking and access info for early morning sessions before sunrise.

Del Monte Beach
beach
beginner-intermediate

Monterey beach-break and sandbar zone. Del Monte is an exposed beach break and sandbar with winter as the favored season.

Early access

Straightforward beach access, but respect residential parking and dune paths.

Parking

Use Del Monte Beach access points in Monterey. Parking can be limited near residential access streets.

Log in 15 seconds(optional)
Wave Quality7/10
Crowd4/10
Overall8/10

Logging once helps tune Monterey picks.

Frequently Asked Questions

About surfing in Monterey

Dawn patrol in Monterey typically starts at first light, around 30 minutes before sunrise. This gives you the glassiest conditions before onshore winds develop.
Early morning offers glassy conditions, fewer crowds, and calmer winds. Water temperature is also warmer relative to air temperature at sunrise.

Make the next surf call sharper

Check the forecast, surf the session, log what happened, and help Quiver keep tuning your local calls.

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