California tides in October 2026

The tides worth planning around in October 2026, at every Great Tides place: the best daylight low tide, the lowest low, the highest high and the largest tidal range at each place in October 2026, plus each place's ten best daylight low tides of the month. Unlike the 90-day rankings elsewhere on this site, everything here is ranked within October 2026 only.

This page covers only the part of the month inside the current 90-day window, October 19, 2026 to October 31, 2026. The season-wide rankings are dominated by the late-December King Tides extremes, which pushes good October dates out of the top tens entirely; ranking within the month brings them back. Each place is ranked only against its own tides; predicted heights are local to each station and are not directly interchangeable between places.

Tides by month: October 2026 · November 2026 · December 2026 · January 2027

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October 2026 extremes 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. The largest range is the biggest difference between two consecutive predicted tides in the month, dated by its first tide.

Daylight low tides at Crescent City in October 2026

Crescent City had 10 predicted low tides in daylight in October 2026, 7 of them minus tides (at or below 0.0 ft). The ten lowest are below, lowest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its 90-day daylight and weekend lists, are on its place page.

Daylight low tides at Half Moon Bay in October 2026

Half Moon Bay had 9 predicted low tides in daylight in October 2026, 7 of them minus tides (at or below 0.0 ft). The ten lowest are below, lowest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its 90-day daylight and weekend lists, are on its place page.

Daylight low tides at Santa Cruz in October 2026

Santa Cruz had 10 predicted low tides in daylight in October 2026, 7 of them minus tides (at or below 0.0 ft). The ten lowest are below, lowest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its 90-day daylight and weekend lists, are on its place page.

Daylight low tides at Port San Luis & Avila Beach in October 2026

Port San Luis & Avila Beach had 10 predicted low tides in daylight in October 2026, 7 of them minus tides (at or below 0.0 ft). The ten lowest are below, lowest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its 90-day daylight and weekend lists, are on its place page.

Daylight low tides at La Jolla in October 2026

La Jolla had 10 predicted low tides in daylight in October 2026, 7 of them minus tides (at or below 0.0 ft). The ten lowest are below, lowest first. The rest of this place's rankings, including its 90-day daylight and weekend lists, are on its place page.

Questions

Why rank tides within a single month?

The 90-day rankings elsewhere on Great Tides are dominated by the season's most extreme dates, so a good low tide in October 2026 can miss every top-ten list even though it is the best date that month. Ranking within the month answers the question visitors actually ask when they plan a trip for a specific month: what is the best this month offers, at each place?

Why does this page not cover the whole month?

Great Tides ranks a rolling 90-day window of predictions, currently October 19, 2026 to October 31, 2026 for this month. October 2026 is an edge month of that window, so only the covered dates are ranked here; the page fills in as the window rolls forward.

What height is good for tidepooling?

A daylight low of 1.5 ft (0.46 m) or lower generally exposes much more of the intertidal zone than an ordinary low, and at or below 0.0 ft the exposure is at its best. Those thresholds drive the Good and Excellent tidepooling labels shown next to the tides above.

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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