United States · Big Sur
McWay Cove
Sea
61.9°F
Air
–
UV
–
Get a wetsuit
13–18°C
More like this
All beaches · United States
Climate · monthly averages
Sea temperature by month
5-year averages (2021–2025). Min/Max are typical daily lows and highs, not record extremes.
43°F
46°F
50°F
54°F
57°F
61°F
64°F
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
MinMin °F
5352.8
5151.4
5150.5
4949.0
4949.2
5151.0
5050.4
5353.1
5554.8
5555.4
5352.8
5453.7
AvgAvg °F
5453.5
5352.6
5251.5
5150.5
5050.5
5251.8
5252.4
5554.7
5757.1
5756.6
5555.2
5555.3
MaxMax °F
5554.7
5454.5
5353.3
5252.3
5251.7
5353.3
5454.0
5655.8
5958.7
5858.1
5757.3
5757.2
Warmest in September (57.1°F). Coldest in May (50.5°F). Rarely comfortable for swimming.
About McWay Cove
The Big Sur coast turns on McWay Cove, where the 24-metre McWay Falls drops straight onto the sand as one of only two perennial tidefalls in California, viewable from a clifftop overlook in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Five kilometres north, Pfeiffer Beach is known for manganese-garnet purple sand and the Keyhole Rock arch; Sand Dollar Beach, the area's longest, stretches south. The Pacific peaks at 14-16 °C in August and September – swimming is not the point, with Monterey airport ninety minutes up Highway 1.