Washington Tide Charts

Q: Where do the Washington tide predictions come from?

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

Among the stations listed here, Olympia has the largest published mean range at 10.47 feet, while Port Angeles has the smallest at 4.59 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 Washington 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 Washington?

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 Washington coast, live from NOAA CO-OPS.

10 NOAA stations with a tide chart page in Washington

Station pages

Biggest mean range

10.47 ft

Source

NOAA CO-OPS

Washington tides at a glance

NOAA harmonic stations

tide chart pages

one per NOAA harmonic station

10.47 ft

largest mean range

Olympia (station 9446807)

4.59 ft

smallest mean range

Port Angeles (station 9444090)

Mixed

tide types here

NOAA station classification

Washington’s tides grow as they wrap in from the Pacific through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and into Puget Sound, where ranges get large and the daily inequality is strong. The Sound’s narrows concentrate that exchange into serious tidal currents.

Pick your coast

Washington 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
Neah Bay	Neah Bay (9443090)	5.52 ft	Mixed
La Push	La Push, Quillayute River (9442396)	6.44 ft	Mixed
Westport	Westport (9441102)	7.01 ft	Mixed
Port Angeles	Port Angeles (9444090)	4.59 ft	Mixed
Port Townsend	Port Townsend (9444900)	5.34 ft	Mixed
Friday Harbor	Friday Harbor (9449880)	4.82 ft	Mixed
Seattle	Seattle (9447130)	7.66 ft	Mixed
Tacoma	Tacoma (9446484)	8.06 ft	Mixed
Olympia	BUDD INLET, SOUTH OF GULL HARBOR (9446807)	10.47 ft	Mixed
Bremerton	Bremerton (9445958)	7.97 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 Washington coast

Razor clam digs on the ocean beaches are scheduled around low tides and state-announced seasons, and Puget Sound beachcombing and shellfishing key off the big daytime lows of spring and summer. Paddlers treat the current predictions with respect.

The spread inside the state is real: NOAA’s mean range runs from 4.59 feet at Port Angeles to 10.47 feet at Olympia. 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 Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington 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

Washington tides FAQ

Where do the Washington tide predictions come from?

Which Washington station has the biggest tides?

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

Can I use these pages for boating in Washington?

Beyond Washington

More coast planning

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