An “Experts” Guide For First Time Surfing in New England

After surfing around New England for the past few years, I certainly cannot call myself an expert surfer...BUT...I have learned a lot about surfing in New England. One of the most important lessons that I have learned, that ALL wannabe surfers need to learn, is when to go surfing vs when to stay home.

And knowing when to go vs when to stay at home really has to do with reading the waves, doing a tiny bit of research, and only letting yourself go out when you have a REAL chance at catching waves.

When is the Best Time to Go Surfing in New England?

The best time for surfing in New England, unfortunately, is during the cold months. From October to March, waves are ideal in New England. That does not mean there are not great summer days, but there are just fewer "perfect" swell days.

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Looking at the waves can help determine if the waves are surfable or not, but not all surfers live on the beach. So it is incredibly critical to check the surf report using Surfline.

Where to go Surfing in New England

Surfline is a brilliant app that allows surfers to see what the waves are doing in real time, and the future forecast for that day, and even for that week. The first thing Surfline (online or on the app) will make you do is find a beach. Once you select whatever beach you want to explore, you can easily read the waves using a few tricks.

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For experts, the app shows you which way the wind is going, if the tide is going in or out, and other beneficial info for intermediates or expert surfers.

For beginners, there are two things you need to look at: the size of the wave and the "color" of the wave.

Surfline will show you if there are 1-2 foot waves, 2-3, 4-5, etc, at whatever beach you go to. 2-3 is the sweet spot for beginners, but just because there are 3-foot waves does not mean they are "good."

Surfline has a color scale. Purple means "epic" and perfect waves. Dark green means great.  Green is good. Yellow is fair to poor. Red is bad. From my experience, nothing below green is worth it. The colors have to do with the swell, how long it is a wave, the break of it, etc.

Bottom line, do your research on Surfline. If you see red waves that are 1-2 footers, you won't catch a thing, and it will be a miserable waste of time.