Moonlight Beach with kids today
Encinitas, California
Updated 4:03 AM PDT
What decides a families with kids score
Water quality
Grades along this beach run from A to A+ — a spread, but not one that changes whether the water is safe to swim in.
Graded clean today
- San Elijo State Park north end of State Park stairsA+
- Swami's Beach (Seacliff Park)A+
- San Elijo State Park Pipes surf breakA+
- San Elijo State Park (proj. of Liverpool Dr.)A
All 5 monitoring points
| Monitoring point | Distance | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Moonlight Beach (Cottonwood Creek outlet) storm drain / pier | 0.4 km | A |
| San Elijo State Park (proj. of Liverpool Dr.) | 3.3 km | A |
| San Elijo State Park Pipes surf break | 2.7 km | A+ |
| Swami's Beach (Seacliff Park) | 1.5 km | A+ |
| San Elijo State Park north end of State Park stairs | 2.2 km | A+ |
Dry-weather bacterial grades from the Heal the Bay Beach Report Card, updated 2026-08-21. Grades reflect the most recent agency sampling and can change after rain.
Before you swim
Surf is running 3.1 ft today, which makes shorebreak and currents stronger than usual.
Swim near a staffed lifeguard tower, and check the National Weather Service surf-zone forecast for the official rip-current outlook — we report conditions, we don't forecast rip currents.
Moonlight Beach is also scored for
About Moonlight Beach
Moonlight Beach sits on the California coast, where the water runs from about 59°F in January to 72°F in August.
The water averages above 70°F in July, August and September — 3 months of the year — peaking around 72°F in August and dropping to about 59°F in January.
Today it is 76°F. That is 4° above the August average of 72°F here.
Tide predictions come from NOAA station La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) about 20.4 km away on the open coast.
Frequently asked questions
Is Moonlight Beach good for families today?
Fine with close supervision — we score it 79 out of 100 today. The limiting factor is surf calmness at 3.1 ft.
What makes a good families with kids day?
We weight surf calmness (35%), water temperature (25%), uv exposure (22%) and combine them into one score. Conditions we cannot read are left out rather than guessed.