Alaska Tide Charts

Q: Where do the Alaska tide predictions come from?

Every value comes from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). Alaska has 10 harmonic prediction stations in this directory, and each page requests the predictions from api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov in your browser when it loads, so the numbers are NOAA's own rather than a copy we maintain.

Q: Which Alaska station has the biggest tides?

Among the stations listed here, Anchorage has the largest published mean range at 26.19 feet, while Kodiak has the smallest at 6.78 feet. Mean range is NOAA's long-term average difference between mean high water and mean low water; spring tides swing wider than it and neap tides narrower.

Q: Why is high tide at different times along the Alaska coast?

The tide is a long wave moving along the coast and into every bay and river, and it takes real time to travel. Two towns on the same shoreline can see high water an hour or more apart, and the delay grows up estuaries and behind inlets. That is why this page links a separate chart per NOAA station instead of pretending one table covers the whole state.

Q: Can I use these pages for boating in Alaska?

No. These are planning pages for beach walks, fishing and tidepooling. Mariners should use official NOAA charts and products at tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov. Whether any specific flat, bar or crossing is safe on foot is a local conditions question for the authority that manages that shoreline, not something a tide table can answer.

Seven day tide tables and today's tide curve for 10 NOAA harmonic prediction stations on the Alaska coast, live from NOAA CO-OPS.

10 NOAA stations with a tide chart page in Alaska

Station pages

Biggest mean range

26.19 ft

Source

NOAA CO-OPS

Alaska tides at a glance

NOAA harmonic stations

tide chart pages

one per NOAA harmonic station

26.19 ft

largest mean range

Anchorage (station 9455920)

6.78 ft

smallest mean range

Kodiak (station 9457292)

Mixed

tide types here

NOAA station classification

Alaska has the largest tides in the United States, with upper Cook Inlet near Anchorage seeing ranges that rival the Bay of Fundy, while Southeast’s fjords swing hugely twice a day. Distances are vast and each station really does have its own schedule.

Pick your coast

Alaska tide chart pages

Each page below reads NOAA’s harmonic predictions live for one station: today’s curve, a 7 day high/low table with sun and moon times, and the week’s best low tide windows. Mean range and tide type come from NOAA’s published station datums, and they are worth a glance before you pick: two towns an hour apart can live on very different tides.

Tide chart	NOAA station	Mean range	Tide type
Ketchikan	Ketchikan (9450460)	12.97 ft	Mixed
Sitka	Sitka (9451600)	7.7 ft	Mixed
Juneau	Juneau (9452210)	13.74 ft	Mixed
Skagway	Skagway, Taiya Inlet (9452400)	14.11 ft	Mixed
Cordova	Cordova (9454050)	10.17 ft	Mixed
Valdez	Valdez (9454240)	9.7 ft	Mixed
Seward	Seward (9455090)	8.33 ft	Mixed
Homer	COAL POINT (9455558)	15.94 ft	Mixed
Anchorage	Anchorage (9455920)	26.19 ft	Mixed
Kodiak	Kodiak Island (9457292)	6.78 ft	Mixed

Mean range is NOAA’s published difference between mean high water and mean low water at each station, in feet.

Local knowledge

How tides behave on the Alaska coast

Life on the water here is scheduled by the book of tides: harbors, flats walks, setnet sites and shore fishing all run on it. The dramatic lows expose enormous flats, and locals treat glacial mud and returning water as genuinely dangerous, which is a matter for local authorities, not this page.

The spread inside the state is real: NOAA’s mean range runs from 6.78 feet at Kodiak to 26.19 feet at Anchorage. Use the station nearest the shoreline you actually plan to stand on, and expect timing to drift further up rivers, estuaries and back bays.

Tide pool at low water crowded with purple and orange sea stars and green anemones — A tide pool exposed at low water. The daytime lows and minus tides flagged on each Alaska station page are the windows when shoreline like this is reachable. “Tide pools in santa cruz” by Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0

A white tide staff marked in feet standing in harbor water, with a Tide Level sign and NOAA ships docked behind it — A tide staff and NOAA ships in Juneau, Alaska. Every prediction on the Alaska pages traces back to water level measurements like these, analyzed by NOAA CO-OPS into harmonic constants. “NOAA Tide Level Juneau 28” by Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0

A person digging for clams with a long-handled tool on a wet sand flat exposed at low tide — Clam digging on a flat exposed at low water. Where Alaska allows shellfishing, the tide table is the first tool; the state’s harvest rules and closures are the second. “Clam digging” by Martyne Reesman, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, CC BY-SA 2.0

A full moon rising over calm water beyond a stone breakwater with people watching from it — Full and new moons bring the biggest tides of the month to the Alaska coast: spring tides, when the highs run highest and the minus tides show up. “Full Moon rising over Brisbane River-1” by Sheba_Also 43,000 photos, CC BY-SA 2.0

Common questions

Alaska tides FAQ

Where do the Alaska tide predictions come from?

Which Alaska station has the biggest tides?

Why is high tide at different times along the Alaska coast?

Can I use these pages for boating in Alaska?

Beyond Alaska

More coast planning

Beach conditionsLive NWS rip current and surf zone forecasts nationwide, reproduced as issued.Alaska tick forecastDune grass and coastal trails are tick habitat. Worth a check before the walk in.Alaska mosquito forecastMarsh coast at dusk is prime biting time. See where activity stands today.

Tide charts in other states

Station facts are from NOAA CO-OPS (tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov), US government work in the public domain, attributed as NOS requests. Tide values are read live on each station page and reproduced as published. These pages are for beach, fishing and tidepool planning, not navigation. National hub: US tide charts →
Hero image: “Brewster Flats Tidal Flats on Cape Cod Bay East Brewster Massachusetts” by EgorovaSvetlana, CC BY-SA 4.0