California highest high tides

The highest predicted high tides at every Great Tides place, in one place. These are the top-10 high tides at each place over October 19, 2026 to January 16, 2027, ranked by predicted height — the dates the sea climbs furthest up the shore.

The season's highest highs are the king tides: the King Tides page shows the single highest high per place for the three published 2026–27 King Tides windows, while this page shows the full top ten per place over the whole window. The very highest entries on this page are the king tides themselves — for example, every place's number one below falls in the December 2026 window. Each place is ranked only against its own tides; predicted heights are local to each station and are not directly interchangeable between places.

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Highest high tide at each place

Times are local station time; heights are relative to each place's own MLLW datum, so rows are ranked within each place, not against each other.

Highest high tides at Crescent City

The ten highest predicted high tides at Crescent City (CRESCENT CITY station 9419750) in the window, highest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its lowest and daylight low tides, are on its place page.

Highest high tides at Half Moon Bay

The ten highest predicted high tides at Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point Harbor station 9414131) in the window, highest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its lowest and daylight low tides, are on its place page.

Highest high tides at Santa Cruz

The ten highest predicted high tides at Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay station 9413745) in the window, highest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its lowest and daylight low tides, are on its place page.

Highest high tides at Port San Luis & Avila Beach

The ten highest predicted high tides at Port San Luis & Avila Beach (PORT SAN LUIS station 9412110) in the window, highest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its lowest and daylight low tides, are on its place page.

Highest high tides at La Jolla

The ten highest predicted high tides at La Jolla (La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) station 9410230) in the window, highest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its lowest and daylight low tides, are on its place page.

Questions

What is a king tide?

The popular name for the season's highest high tides — they occur when the Moon's, Sun's and Earth's positions line up to produce the largest tidal bulges. The California Coastal Commission publishes the dates; for 2026–27 they are November 24–26 and December 23–25, 2026 and January 21–22, 2027, and this page's top entries fall in those windows. This page lists the top ten highs per place rather than one per window, so the king tides appear here as the top of a longer list.

Can I compare high-tide heights between places?

Not directly. Heights are relative to each station's own MLLW datum — the same datum name means different things at different stations. Each place above is ranked only against its own tides: the number one at each place is that place's own highest, not necessarily the highest water of the five places.

Do high tides matter for tidepooling?

For watching the shore, the low tides matter most. Very high tides matter for coastal flooding and erosion — water climbs above the usual high-water line and can reach boardwalks, trails and low parking areas. The high tide paired with an extreme low on the same day also produces the largest tidal range and the strongest currents.

Are these the actual water levels I will see?

No. These are astronomical predictions from NOAA CO-OPS. Wind, storms and air pressure push real water levels above or below the prediction, sometimes by a foot or more. Check the local forecast and conditions before you go, and do not use these predictions for navigation.

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