Le Pin Sec

Naujac-sur-Mer · Gironde · France

Today’s forecast: the current surf forecast for Le Pin Sec (wave height, swell, wind, tide and a 0–10 rating for every hour of the next 16 days) are only shown on SurfCams. They change every hour, so this text doesn’t contain them. To check today’s surf, open https://surf-cams.com/spot/le-pin-sec.

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Le Pin Sec is a wild beach about 10 km from Naujac-sur-Mer at the end of a single road through the pine forest, with no houses, just a campsite, a few bungalows and a beach bar behind the dune. It is an open sand-bottom beach break with many peaks along a long beach, giving fast, hollow lefts and rights that often turn out bigger than they look from the dune. Because there is so much room, it is usually uncrowded, and half-buried wartime bunkers mark the spot. It works on most swells from small to about 2.5 m and suits confident beginners in summer as well as more experienced surfers in the autumn.

Level
Intermediate
Break
Beach break, sand
Waves
Lefts and rights
Crowd
Quiet
Season
spring, summer, autumn, winter
Boards
A shortboard or fish for the hollow peaks; a longboard or foam board in small summer surf.

When it works

✓ A west to north-west swell of 1–2 m with an east wind (north-east to south-east also works), best around mid tide.

When it doesn't

✕ Onshore west to north-west wind, and big swells over about 2.5 m when the banks close out and the rips get strong.

Watch out for

  • rips
  • currents

Best months

May, June, July, August, September, October, November

Local tips

Walk along the beach away from the main access and you will usually find a peak to yourself. Mid tide is generally best, and the waves get bigger as the tide drops. Watch the dune height when judging size: visitors regularly report waves twice as big as they looked from the top. Outside the summer season there are no services at all, so bring what you need.

Getting there

Take the D101 north from Hourtin and turn off on the signposted road to Le Pin Sec, about 15 minutes' drive; a car and bike park sits at the end of the road and a path crosses the dune to the beach. In summer there is a lifeguard post, toilets, showers, a bar-restaurant and a surf school; nothing is open off-season.

Travel notes

How often it works
Wannasurf calls it regular. The long open beach has many sandbanks and picks up most west swells.
Crowd and vibe
It is isolated and often empty, even in August. Walk away from the main access and you can have a peak to yourself.
Camping and vans
Wannasurf mentions a campsite right behind the dunes, but we could not confirm its name. The nearest listed campsite, Camping de la Côte d'Argent in Hourtin, is about 5 km away. Nearest campsite about 5 km away.
Facilities
In summer there is a lifeguard post, toilets, showers, a bar-restaurant and a surf school. Nothing is open off-season.
Water quality
The Le Pin Sec monitoring point was rated good every season from 2022 to 2025, and all six 2026 samples were good.

Ideal conditions

Swell
W–NW best, SW–NNW works
Size
1–2.2 m offshore swell; starts at 0.6 m, holds to 3 m
Period
8 s minimum, best from 12 s
Wind
Offshore NE–SE; handles onshore up to 12 km/h
Tide
mid best
Faces
W (276°)

Live cam

No cam at this spot yet: the forecast and the guide are on the map.

Nearby spots

All spots in Gironde · All spots

Sources