Santa Cruz tides today
Santa Cruz, on the north shore of Monterey Bay, is a NOAA subordinate station whose highs and lows are derived from the Monterey harbor gauge across the bay.
Shaded: night. Green bands: solunar periods (thick = major, thin = minor). Heights in feet above Mean Lower Low Water, the zero of NOAA charts.
Santa Cruz, CA · Tuesday, October 13
Tide falling, 3.8 ft now
Low 7:15 PM
0.1 ft · in 4 h 34 min
| High | 1:12 AM | 3.8 ft |
| Low | 5:44 AM | 2.7 ft |
| High | 11:56 AM | 5.4 ft |
| Low | 7:15 PM | 0.1 ft |
Tide coefficient 101 (average), range 5.3 ft
Sunrise 7:14 AM · sunset 6:34 PM
Waxing crescent, 10% lit · fishing day ★★☆☆
Solunar: major 1:54 AM–3:54 AM, minor 9:59 AM–10:59 AM, major 2:19 PM–4:19 PM, minor 7:34 PM–8:34 PM
Santa Cruz tide table, next 7 days
| Day | High tides | Low tides | Coef. | Sun | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:12 AM 3.8 ft · 11:56 AM 5.4 ft | 5:44 AM 2.7 ft · 7:15 PM 0.1 ft | 101 | 7:14 AM–6:34 PM | Waxing crescent ★★☆☆ | |
| 2:14 AM 3.6 ft · 12:27 PM 5.2 ft | 6:13 AM 3.0 ft · 8:04 PM 0.3 ft | 95 | 7:15 AM–6:32 PM | Waxing crescent ★★☆☆ | |
| 3:31 AM 3.5 ft · 1:04 PM 4.9 ft | 6:44 AM 3.3 ft · 9:00 PM 0.4 ft | 87 | 7:16 AM–6:31 PM | Waxing crescent ★★☆☆ | |
| 5:04 AM 3.5 ft · 1:52 PM 4.7 ft | 7:26 AM 3.5 ft · 10:03 PM 0.6 ft | 79 | 7:17 AM–6:30 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 6:27 AM 3.6 ft · 2:58 PM 4.4 ft | 8:52 AM 3.6 ft · 11:07 PM 0.6 ft | 73 | 7:18 AM–6:28 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 7:11 AM 3.7 ft · 4:18 PM 4.2 ft | 10:54 AM 3.5 ft | 14 | 7:19 AM–6:27 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 7:38 AM 3.9 ft · 5:35 PM 4.2 ft | 12:04 AM 0.6 ft · 12:17 PM 3.2 ft | 69 | 7:20 AM–6:26 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ |
Plan around the tide at Santa Cruz
- Tue Oct 13, 5:18 PM to 6:34 PM1 h 16 min · lowest 0.3 ft at 6:32 PM
A falling tide uncovers sand bars and tide pools first; plan to be back before the water rises past the level you chose. Not for navigation.
Station Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay (NOAA 9413745). Predicted astronomical tide: wind, river flow and storms can move the real water by a foot or more. 5.2 ft is the average daily range here.
Published by Radif Partners · How the tides are computed · predictions downloaded October 13, 2026
Tide times for Santa Cruz come from the National Ocean Service prediction for station 9413745, Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, a subordinate station whose highs and lows NOAA corrects from MONTEREY, MONTEREY BAY. The tide here is mixed: two highs and two lows most days, but of unequal size, the two highs of a day differing by 1.5 ft on average, for an average daily range of 5.2 ft between the higher high and the lower low. Around the new and full moon the range grows to about 7.0 ft on one day in ten, and at the quarter moons it shrinks to 3.6 ft. Heights are in feet above Mean Lower Low Water, the zero of nautical charts, so a negative number is water below that zero: 231 of the 457 days from October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 have one, down to -1.8 ft on December 24, 2026. The highest predicted tide of that period is 6.8 ft on December 24, 2026. Clock times are Pacific Time, daylight saving time included.
Across the bay from its reference
NOAA predicts Santa Cruz from Monterey, about 20 miles to the south across open water, with high water 6 minutes earlier, low water 11 minutes earlier and heights at 97 percent for the highs and 99 percent for the lows. The bay is wide and deep enough for the tide to cross it almost as a single surface, and the corrections show it. In numbers, Santa Cruz averages 5.2 ft a day against 5.3 ft at Monterey. The curve on this page is built from those NOAA highs and lows, shaped on the Monterey hourly record.
Cliffs, a wharf and a river mouth
The city faces south onto the bay, with low cliffs to the west and the long municipal wharf near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Each part of that shore reads the tide differently. At the river mouth, the sand bar and the lagoon behind it change with the season and with the flow of the river, and the water there need not follow the ocean table at all. Along the cliffs to the west, the shore is a flat rock terrace cut by the sea, and its pools appear on the lower tides; Natural Bridges State Beach, at the western edge of town, is the best-known spot. Its arch-shaped rock and the reef around it change character completely between high and low water.
Surf spots and the stage of tide
Many reef and point breaks along the cliffs work only on part of the tide, and local surfers learn which. A deep low on a winter afternoon, down to -1.8 ft on December 24, 2026, empties some of them; a high tide fills others in. The table below gives the times; the surf forecast does the rest.
Highest and lowest tides at Santa Cruz, 2026 to 2027
The six highest highs and six lowest lows predicted for Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay between October 1, 2026 and December 31, 2027, one per day. The high-water dates are the king tides of this station; the low-water dates are the best days to see the flats, bars and tide pools.
| Highest highs | Time | Height |
|---|---|---|
| December 24, 2026 | 9:21 AM | 6.8 ft |
| December 23, 2026 | 8:32 AM | 6.8 ft |
| November 25, 2026 | 9:33 AM | 6.7 ft |
| December 25, 2026 | 10:12 AM | 6.6 ft |
| July 3, 2027 | 10:00 PM | 6.6 ft |
| January 21, 2027 | 8:24 AM | 6.6 ft |
| Lowest lows | Time | Height |
|---|---|---|
| December 24, 2026 | 4:55 PM | -1.8 ft |
| June 6, 2027 | 6:36 AM | -1.7 ft |
| December 23, 2026 | 4:08 PM | -1.7 ft |
| July 4, 2027 | 5:32 AM | -1.7 ft |
| December 25, 2026 | 5:42 PM | -1.7 ft |
| January 21, 2027 | 3:51 PM | -1.7 ft |
A subordinate station
NOAA predicts Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay from the reference station MONTEREY, MONTEREY BAY (9413450): high water 6 minutes earlier, low water 11 minutes earlier, heights multiplied by 0.97 at high water and 0.99 at low water. Between those highs and lows the curve on this page follows the shape of the reference station's hourly curve.
Other stations nearby
- Monterey tides: MONTEREY, MONTEREY BAY, average range 5.3 ft, highest predicted tide 7.0 ft on December 24, 2026
- Half Moon Bay tides: Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay, average range 5.6 ft, highest predicted tide 7.2 ft on December 24, 2026
- San Francisco tides: SAN FRANCISCO (Golden Gate), average range 5.8 ft, highest predicted tide 7.2 ft on December 24, 2026
- Santa Barbara tides: Santa Barbara, average range 5.4 ft, highest predicted tide 7.2 ft on December 24, 2026
- Santa Monica tides: Santa Monica, Municipal Pier, average range 5.4 ft, highest predicted tide 7.3 ft on August 1, 2027
- Long Beach tides: Long Beach, Terminal Island, average range 5.6 ft, highest predicted tide 7.4 ft on December 24, 2026