Moonlight Beach water quality & water temp today
Source: County of San Diego DEHQ (sdbeachinfo.com) · updated Mon Oct 26, 11:24 AM PT
Water temp
73.6°F
NOAA NDBC 46274 – Leucadia Nearshore, CA (262), 2 km away · Tue Oct 27, 1:26 PM PT
What to wear
Boardshorts or a bikini/top
≥72°F trunks · 66–71 spring/2mm · 62–65 3/2 · 58–61 4/3 · <58 4/3–5/4 + booties
Latest bacteria grade
A dry · n/s wet
Encinitas, Moonlight Beach (Cottonwood Creek outlet) · Heal the Bay Beach Report Card · Oct 9, 2026 (n/s = not sampled)
Rain (72 h)
0.00″
NWS KSAN · below the 0.1″ advisory threshold
Official monitoring stations
- Moonlight Beach – Cottonwood Creek Outlet — Open
About Moonlight Beach
Moonlight Beach is Encinitas's town beach, a playful beach break at Cottonwood Creek in San Diego County. Like most Southern California breaks, its water quality is driven mostly by runoff: after rain, storm drains, creeks and river mouths flush bacteria into the surf zone, and county health officers advise staying out of the ocean for at least 72 hours. During dry weather, water near creek mouths, piers and enclosed beaches still tends to grade worse than open coastline. County agencies sample weekly (more often in summer) and post advisories when bacteria exceed state standards, or close beaches after sewage spills. Ocean temperatures here typically run from the high 50s°F in spring upwelling to the low-to-mid 70s°F in late summer, so check the live reading above before choosing your rubber.
Wetsuit picks
Today's call here: Boardshorts or a bikini/top. Gear recommendations for each thickness are coming soon.
TODO: wetsuit affiliate placeholder — no products or links yet.