Surf spot

Surf City Pier

Forecast conditions and map view for Surf City Pier in USA, South East, Southern North Carolina. Open the interactive surf map to inspect wind, waves, and nearby spots.

Country: USA, South East, Southern North Carolina
Coordinates: 34.4255, -77.5448

Metric
Metric	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00
Wave height (m)	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.5	0.7	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.5
Wave direction	SSE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	S	S	S	S	S	SE	S	SE	SE	SSE	S	S	S	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	E	E	E	ESE	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	ESE	ESE	ESE	E	E	E	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE
Wave period (s)	3.3	4.8	6.1	6.4	5.9	6.3	3.4	3.4	3.3	3	3	5.7	3.3	7	5.9	3.9	3.5	3.4	3.3	6	7.3	6	5.7	7	6.9	6.9	6.9	7	6.9	6.8	6.6	6	5.8	6	5.2	4.2	4.8	5	5.5	4.7	4.8	4.8	5	5.4	5.3	5.2	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.2	4.3	4.2	4.1
Wave energy (kJ)	5	10	13	12	11	10	4	4	3	3	3	8	2	11	10	5	6	5	5	13	19	13	14	17	17	17	15	15	15	15	14	12	12	10	6	10	23	21	13	26	20	29	28	34	34	26	23	21	19	18	13	11	11	10	8	8
Wind speed (km/h)	5.1	5.5	5.4	4.6	6.2	9.4	8.1	3.5	2.6	2.1	2.2	7.2	12.1	14	10	3.6	5.6	4.8	4.7	3.3	9.4	9.2	4.9	1.8	4.2	4.9	4.1	5.3	12.3	12.5	8.7	6.9	4.3	6.7	7.6	10	9.5	10.9	7.2	5.8	5.4	5.5	5.1	9.1	11	11.7	7.8	5.1	4.4	5.4	5.1	8.7	10.4	9.9	5.4	6
Wind direction	SWCross-on	WSWCross-on	WCross	WSWGlassy	SOnshore	SOnshore	SSWOnshore	SSWGlassy	SWGlassy	WSWGlassy	SGlassy	SOnshore	SSWOnshore	SSWOnshore	SSWOnshore	WGlassy	SWCross-on	WSWGlassy	WSWGlassy	SWGlassy	SWCross-on	WSWCross-on	SSWGlassy	SGlassy	WNWGlassy	WNWGlassy	NNWGlassy	ENECross-off	ESECross-on	ESECross-on	ESECross-on	ECross	NEGlassy	NECross-off	NECross-off	ENECross-off	ECross	ESECross-on	ECross	ENECross-off	NECross-off	NOffshore	NECross-off	ENECross-off	ESECross-on	ESECross-on	ESECross-on	ECross	NEGlassy	NOffshore	NECross-off	ECross	SECross-on	ESECross-on	SECross-on	ESECross-on

Surf City Pier, Southern North Carolina, USA

Surf City Pier is a classic Atlantic Coast surf break on the central-southern North Carolina barrier islands, known for its easy access and fun, beach-break waves. It sits right in the heart of Surf City, making it a popular spot for both locals and visitors looking for a straightforward, convenient surf session.

What it’s like

Wave type: Mostly a beach break with shifting sandbars; the pier can help focus waves and create some better-defined peaks.
Wave quality: Can range from average to very good depending on sand movement, swell direction, and tide.
Consistency: Fairly reliable compared with some other East Coast spots, especially during hurricane swells, nor’easters, and autumn fronts.
Crowds: Often busy, especially on warm weekends and when the surf is decent, since it’s easy to access and popular with longboarders and shortboarders alike.

Best conditions

Swell: Works well on east, southeast, and northeast swells.
Wind: Best with light offshore or light variable winds; strong onshore winds can quickly make it messy.
Tide: Often best around mid tide, though this can change with sandbar setup and swell size.

Suitable for

Beginners to intermediate surfers on smaller days
Longboarders when the waves are soft and lined up
Shortboarders when a solid swell creates punchier peaks near the pier

Things to know

Sandbars shift often, so the break can change from one week to the next.
The pier area can create localized currents and more active wave shape, especially on bigger swells.
It’s a good spot for checking conditions quickly because the lineup is easy to watch from shore.

Overall

Surf City Pier is a dependable, user-friendly North Carolina surf spot that can produce fun, punchy beach-break waves when the sand and swell align. It’s not usually a hidden gem, but it’s a solid place to score a session on the right day.