Kitesurfing, wing foiling and foiling at Hardelot

Hardelot-Plage lies on the dune coast south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, and when the summer buoys are in place, the préfecture maritime splits the beach into three: in the middle a 600-metre swimming zone between two channels, and on either side, beyond those channels, a zone where you rig your kite and head out. The beach faces west, so west is straight onshore and south-west and north-west come in side-on, while south and north blow along the beach and Windulu gives a no-go in an easterly. The live data comes from Le Touquet airfield, almost thirteen kilometres south on the same coast and just above sea level, so it measures at roughly beach height, although there is a good stretch of coast in between.

When the summer buoys are in place, the kite zones lie north of the northern kite lane (Wheeling Club) and south of the southern kite lane (base de glisse); the 600 m swimming zone lies between the two lanes. Outside kite zones and kite lanes, a 5-knot speed limit applies within 300 m of the shoreline. Source: préfecture maritime, arrêté 76/2023 with buoyage plan.

Wind directions & safety

The open water at Hardelot faces W (265°). The safest wind directions to get on the water here are southwest, west and northwest (onshore or cross-onshore). With the wind from the north, northeast, southeast and south, it runs cross to cross-offshore: doable, but mind your position and don't go alone. With the wind from the east, it blows offshore and is dangerous: you'll be pushed off the beach onto open water (no-go).

On this page you'll find the live wind, the hourly forecast and a personal go/no-go for Hardelot, plus your ideal kite or wing size and (where available) a live beach webcam. Wind data: AROME via Open-Meteo.