Warmest Beaches in California

Here's where the beaches in southern and northern California have the warmest summer and winter holiday temperatures and warmest ocean water.

It's probably no surprise to anyone to find the warmest beach weather in California that you need to go to the southern shores of the state.

Generally at any time of the year, the farther south you travel along the Pacific coast, the warmer the air and the ocean. Southern California usually offers the best beach holiday weather anywhere along the west coast of the United States: sunny, dry and warm.

There are a couple of places along the coast of California, though it gets surprisingly warm. Where the coastline juts westward, unexpected hot spots appear. That's where the coast bump creates a shore facing south, ideal for soaking up the heat of the sun.

South exposed beaches become the warmest of all in both summer and winter in California. This is where you're most likely on the Pacific Ocean to have a nice beach vacation.

Quick Facts

Not every beach town and city on the coast of California has a weather station.

Hottest daytime temperature–Long Beach averages daily highs of 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) in August for the places that do, these usually have the warmest weather.

Warmest water–The ocean off Newport Beach and typically heats up to 70 degrees F (21 ° C) in August at Avalon on Santa Catalina Island.

Highest year round temperature–Long Beach has a daily average of 65 degrees F (18 degrees F).

Warmest winter beach–in December and January, Avila Beach, Long Beach and Laguna Beach are often above 67 degrees F (19 ° C).

Northern California's warmest beach – Shelter Cove's daytime temperature in September normally climbs to at least 69 degrees F (21 ° C).

Hottest Beach Weather

Long Beach in July, August and September is the place to be for those who love their hot beaches. No other spot with an official weather station along the California coast records average monthly temperatures above 80 degrees F (27 ° C). In July and September, Long Beach has average highs of 82 degrees F and in August 84.

However, Southern California offers many other warm summer holiday spots. Over the summer at Avila Beach, Big Sur, Laguna Beach, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz, temperatures often reach the upper 70s.

Warmest Ocean Water

For the warmest ocean swimming off the west coast of the United States, Newport Beach is your best chance in early August or in mid to late August at Avalon on Santa Catalina Island.

During the summer, however, you can still get a warm swim in at Newport Beach, as the water usually remains at 69 degrees F from early July to mid-September and continues at 68 degrees until mid-October. The Balboa Peninsula provides shelter from the open Pacific to make California's warmest year-round Newport Beach waters.

But there is relatively warm water in any beach in southern California during August. In August off Los Angeles, Dana Point, Oceanside, Santa Monica and La Jolla, ocean temperatures of around 68 or 69 degrees can be found. Overall the ocean along the southern coast of the state is at least 10 degrees warmer all year round than it is in northern California.

Warmest Months at California Beaches

The warmest months on most of California's Pacific coast are August and September. Temperatures peak in August at some beaches, while September gets even hotter at other beaches.

On Long Beach and Santa Barbara, and on Santa Catalina and Anacapa Islands, August has the highest daytime temperatures of the year.

September days get a few degrees warmer in Salinas and Point Reyes than in August. At Imperial Beach, Oxnard, Lompoc, Pismo Beach, Salinas and Bodega Bay, September is also the best month of the year for a warm ocean holiday.

Meanwhile, during the days at Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, San Diego, Santa Monica, Big Sur, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, August and September are equally warm.

October is the warmest month for a few places notably Avila Beach and Morro Bay.

Warmest Beach in Winter

California's best beaches are along the southern coast, particularly south-facing shores, for warm winter weather. The warmest temperatures occur in Avila Beach, Long Beach and Laguna Beach, where the days in December and January average up to at least 67 degrees F (19 ° C).

Warm winter days also occur in Imperial Beach, San Diego, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and Morro Bay, where temperatures usually reach mid-60s every day.

Warmest Beaches in Northern California

The warmest weather of the year usually arrives in September on the northern coast of California. And Shelter Cove, where temperatures often rise above 70 degrees F (21 ° C), is the warmest northern Pacific shore of all in September. Indeed days at Shelter Cove's stretch of shore average from May to September are a few degrees warmer than many other beaches in northern California.

Crescent City stands out as having an unusually warm patch of ocean water among the handful of northern coastal sites where water temperature is measured regularly. The ocean off Crescent City sits at 58 or 59 degrees F (15 ° C) in a region where summer waters typically run at 52 or 53 degrees F.