Wrightsville Beach tides today
The Wrightsville Beach station measures the ocean tide on the barrier island east of Wilmington.
Shaded: night. Green bands: solunar periods (thick = major, thin = minor). Heights in feet above Mean Lower Low Water, the zero of NOAA charts.
Wrightsville Beach, NC · Tuesday, October 13
Tide rising, 1.4 ft now
High 10:01 PM
4.0 ft · in 4 h 20 min
| Low | 3:26 AM | 0.5 ft |
| High | 9:47 AM | 5.1 ft |
| Low | 4:04 PM | 0.7 ft |
| High | 10:01 PM | 4.0 ft |
Tide coefficient 106 (average), range 4.7 ft
Sunrise 7:15 AM · sunset 6:39 PM
Waxing crescent, 9% lit · fishing day ★★☆☆
Solunar: major 1:51 AM–3:51 AM, minor 9:46 AM–10:46 AM, major 2:16 PM–4:16 PM, minor 7:41 PM–8:41 PM
Wrightsville Beach tide table, next 7 days
| Day | High tides | Low tides | Coef. | Sun | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:47 AM 5.1 ft · 10:01 PM 4.0 ft | 3:26 AM 0.5 ft · 4:04 PM 0.7 ft | 106 | 7:15 AM–6:39 PM | Waxing crescent ★★☆☆ | |
| 10:34 AM 4.9 ft · 10:49 PM 3.8 ft | 4:01 AM 0.7 ft · 4:45 PM 1.0 ft | 95 | 7:16 AM–6:38 PM | Waxing crescent ★★☆☆ | |
| 11:22 AM 4.7 ft · 11:36 PM 3.5 ft | 4:36 AM 1.0 ft · 5:29 PM 1.3 ft | 84 | 7:16 AM–6:37 PM | Waxing crescent ★★☆☆ | |
| 12:09 PM 4.5 ft | 5:14 AM 1.2 ft · 6:20 PM 1.5 ft | 74 | 7:17 AM–6:36 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 12:23 AM 3.4 ft · 12:54 PM 4.3 ft | 6:00 AM 1.4 ft · 7:22 PM 1.6 ft | 65 | 7:18 AM–6:34 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 1:09 AM 3.3 ft · 1:41 PM 4.2 ft | 7:07 AM 1.6 ft · 8:24 PM 1.5 ft | 61 | 7:19 AM–6:33 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 1:58 AM 3.4 ft · 2:30 PM 4.2 ft | 8:21 AM 1.5 ft · 9:14 PM 1.4 ft | 64 | 7:20 AM–6:32 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ |
Plan around the tide at Wrightsville Beach
No window of 30 minutes or more below 1.0 ft over the next 7 days in daylight. Try a higher level.
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 Wrightsville Beach (NOAA 8658163). Predicted astronomical tide: wind, river flow and storms can move the real water by a foot or more. 4.4 ft is the average daily range here.
Published by Radif Partners · How the tides are computed · predictions downloaded October 13, 2026
Tide times for Wrightsville Beach come from the National Ocean Service prediction for station 8658163, Wrightsville Beach. The tide here is semidiurnal: two highs and two lows of similar height every day, about six hours and a quarter apart, with an average daily range of 4.4 ft. Around the new and full moon the range grows to about 5.6 ft on one day in ten, and at the quarter moons it shrinks to 3.3 ft. Heights are in feet above Mean Lower Low Water, the zero of nautical charts, so a negative number is water below that zero: 205 of the 457 days from October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 have one, down to -1.3 ft on January 23, 2027. The highest predicted tide of that period is 5.7 ft on October 1, 2027. Clock times are Eastern Time, daylight saving time included.
Wilmington's beach
Wrightsville Beach is a barrier island between Masonboro Inlet and Mason Inlet, a short drive from downtown Wilmington. Its reference station averages 4.4 ft from low to high, a bigger tide than on the northern Outer Banks: the coast here curves into Onslow Bay and Long Bay, where the shelf is wider and the tide grows. Around the new and full moon the range reaches 5.6 ft.
Banks Channel and the waterway
Behind the beach, Banks Channel and the Intracoastal Waterway carry the tide between the inlets, and NOAA keeps a reference station at Shinn Point on the waterway, a mile and a half west. In the channels the current can be strong on both flood and ebb, which paddleboarders feel quickly. Upriver, Wilmington's own station on the Cape Fear has a tide that arrives much later than the beach.
Surf at the low and the high
Wrightsville's surf breaks change with the tide: some sandbars work at low tide, others need more water, and the area around the pier and the inlets behaves differently from the open stretch. The lowest low predicted this period is -1.3 ft, on January 23, 2027, and the highest high 5.7 ft, on October 1, 2027. The North Carolina page compares the state's stations.
Highest and lowest tides at Wrightsville Beach, 2026 to 2027
The six highest highs and six lowest lows predicted for Wrightsville Beach 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 |
|---|---|---|
| October 1, 2027 | 8:36 AM | 5.7 ft |
| September 30, 2027 | 7:48 AM | 5.7 ft |
| October 29, 2027 | 7:29 AM | 5.7 ft |
| October 2, 2027 | 9:26 AM | 5.7 ft |
| October 30, 2027 | 8:15 AM | 5.7 ft |
| October 27, 2026 | 8:30 AM | 5.6 ft |
| Lowest lows | Time | Height |
|---|---|---|
| January 23, 2027 | 1:21 AM | -1.3 ft |
| January 24, 2027 | 2:13 AM | -1.2 ft |
| February 21, 2027 | 1:07 AM | -1.2 ft |
| February 22, 2027 | 1:57 AM | -1.2 ft |
| January 22, 2027 | 12:26 AM | -1.2 ft |
| January 25, 2027 | 3:03 AM | -1.1 ft |
Tidal datums at station 8658163
NOAA's averages over the 1983-2001 epoch, measured from the chart zero (MLLW). Average range of the tide (MN): 4.0 ft; great diurnal range (GT): 4.5 ft.
| Datum | Meaning | Height above MLLW |
|---|---|---|
| MHHW | Mean Higher High Water | 4.5 ft |
| MHW | Mean High Water | 4.1 ft |
| MSL | Mean Sea Level | 2.2 ft |
| MLW | Mean Low Water | 0.2 ft |
| MLLW | Mean Lower Low Water (chart zero) | 0.0 ft |
Other stations nearby
- Beaufort tides: Beaufort, Duke Marine Lab, average range 3.5 ft, highest predicted tide 4.5 ft on October 1, 2027
- Hatteras tides: CAPE HATTERAS FISHING PIER, average range 3.4 ft, highest predicted tide 4.5 ft on November 25, 2026
- Oregon Inlet tides: OREGON INLET MARINA, average range 0.9 ft, highest predicted tide 1.6 ft on October 1, 2027
- Nags Head tides: Jennettes Pier, Nags Head (ocean), average range 3.6 ft, highest predicted tide 4.9 ft on October 1, 2027
- Duck tides: DUCK PIER, average range 3.5 ft, highest predicted tide 4.7 ft on October 1, 2027