Higgins Beach is home to many (if not most) Portland-area surfers. Local tides can fluctuate up to 10 feet daily. This, along with rapidly shifting sandbars, ensure that every session here is new and different. Higgins is famous for holding huge overhead-plus swells quite well. Its only weakness is the break's low to mid tidal dependence. Conditions here are generally very fickle. Perfect conditions are a long-period south swell originating in the Caribbean wit ha NW to NNE wind. Specifically, a SE to E swell is the best swell direction with chest to double overhead being the best wave size.