California Tide Charts

Q: Where do the California tide predictions come from?

Every value comes from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). California has 14 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 California station has the biggest tides?

Among the stations listed here, Crescent City has the largest published mean range at 4.99 feet, while Monterey has the smallest at 3.54 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 California 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 California?

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 14 NOAA harmonic prediction stations on the California coast, live from NOAA CO-OPS.

14 NOAA stations with a tide chart page in California

Station pages

Biggest mean range

4.99 ft

Source

NOAA CO-OPS

California tides at a glance

NOAA harmonic stations

tide chart pages

one per NOAA harmonic station

4.99 ft

largest mean range

Crescent City (station 9419750)

3.54 ft

smallest mean range

Monterey (station 9413450)

Mixed / Mixed Diurnal

tide types here

NOAA station classification

California has classic West Coast mixed tides: two highs and two lows a day of noticeably different size. The lower low is the one that matters for the coast’s tidepools, and it swings from barely low to dramatically negative across the lunar month.

Pick your coast

California 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
Crescent City	Crescent City (9419750)	4.99 ft	Mixed
Eureka (North Spit)	North Spit (9418767)	4.89 ft	Mixed
Fort Bragg	NOYO HARBOR (9417426)	4.22 ft	Mixed
Point Reyes	Point Reyes (9415020)	3.91 ft	Mixed
San Francisco	San Francisco (9414290)	4.09 ft	Mixed
Half Moon Bay	Pillar Point Harbor (9414131)	3.85 ft	Mixed
Monterey	Monterey (9413450)	3.54 ft	Mixed
Avila Beach	Port San Luis (9412110)	3.58 ft	Mixed
Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara (9411340)	3.66 ft	Mixed
Santa Monica	Santa Monica (9410840)	3.76 ft	Mixed
Los Angeles	Los Angeles (9410660)	3.81 ft	Mixed
Newport Beach	NEWPORT BEACH, NEWPORT BAY ENTRANCE (9410580)	3.76 ft	Mixed Diurnal
La Jolla	La Jolla (9410230)	3.69 ft	Mixed
San Diego	San Diego (9410170)	4.05 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 California coast

This is the premier tidepooling coast in the lower 48, and the minus tides flagged on these pages are the whole game from Crescent City to La Jolla. Clammers and surf anglers use the same windows, and the state posts its own guidance for exploring tidepools responsibly.

The spread inside the state is real: NOAA’s mean range runs from 3.54 feet at Monterey to 4.99 feet at Crescent City. 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 California 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 California 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 California 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 California 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

California tides FAQ

Where do the California tide predictions come from?

Which California station has the biggest tides?

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

Can I use these pages for boating in California?

Beyond California

More coast planning

California beach conditionsLive NWS rip current and surf zone forecasts for this coast, reproduced as issued.California tick forecastDune grass and coastal trails are tick habitat. Worth a check before the walk in.California 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