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Little river - Clam Beach, United States

Stay in Trinidad: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

Also within 20 km of Trinidad

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Trinidad California
Trinidad, the nearest town, 6 km away. Photo: Coolcaesar at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Little river - Clam Beach

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces W (263°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (83°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 1.6 km out (1 in 161). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 10°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 13°C in July, its warmest (4/3 wetsuit and boots). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually September, with about 3 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Trinidad, 5.9 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.

Water about 12°C: 4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 10 h 05 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to ACV, changing at Denver International Airport (DEN).

    See flights MDW → ACV · Skyscanner from about £225 returnAd
  2. Getting there. 25 min from the airport to Little river - Clam Beach.

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in TrinidadAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay in Trinidad (ad) on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire and lessons.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

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Forecast

Little river - Clam Beach does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

The score for intermediates, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Little river - Clam Beach, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 19Oct23, poor5 ft9 ssoft357kJwind from the west-north-west, 3 knots12°C
Tue 20Oct0, too big9 ft10 ssoft1,286kJwind from the south-east, 4 knots13°C
Wed 21Oct56, good4 ft8 smushy139kJwind from the west-south-west, 4 knots13°C
Thu 22Oct46, fair4 ft5 smushy70kJwind from the west-south-west, 0 knots14°C
Fri 23Oct15, poor5 ft9 ssoft331kJwind from the north, 13 knots13°C
Sat 24Oct41, fair5 ft7 smushy229kJwind from the south-south-east, 8 knots14°C
Sun 25Oct0, too big9 ft8 ssoft933kJwind from the east-south-east, 5 knots14°C
Mon 26Oct51, good4 ft7 smushy167kJwind from the north-north-west, 7 knots14°C
Tue 27Oct54, good4 ft6 smushy97kJwind from the west-north-west, 1 knot15°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Tue 20 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for intermediate surfers. Change dates

  1. Tue 20 Oct
    Travel out

    Fly MDW to ACV, changing at DEN, then 25 min by road. About 10h 05 door to door

  2. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Patricks Point

    Best 14:00 to 17:00 local time: 4 ft at 8 s, wind 3 kn (6 km/h).

  3. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Patricks Point

    Best 11:00 to 14:00 local time: 4 ft at 6 s, wind 4 kn (7 km/h).

  4. Fri 23 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 35 of 80.

  5. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Little river - Clam Beach

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 5 ft at 7 s, wind 8 kn (16 km/h).

  6. Sun 25 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 0 of 80.

  7. Mon 26 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly MDW to ACV, changing at DEN, then 25 min by road. About 10h 05 door to door

The plan picks the best of 5 spots near Trinidad each day: Camel Rock, Little river - Clam Beach, Moonstone, Patricks Point, Trinidad State Beach.

The trip from Trinidad, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £920–£1,685 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to ACV, estimated from distance and season, changing at DEN, full-service airlines, with a hold bag£225–£470
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Taxiairport and back, shared£15–£25
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£270–£455
Food7 days eating out£260–£480
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£115–£190
Total£920–£1,685

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Places to eat near Trinidad

Within 2 km of the town centre, listed by how complete the listing is (website, opening hours, cuisine) and whether two sources name it. Not a judgement of the food: we have no reviews. Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps Foundation. Credits

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