Whether you're planning a sunrise walk, a surf session, or an afternoon of shelling, knowing the tides changes everything. This page shows today's live high and low tide predictions for the beaches Americans search for most — from Myrtle Beach to Key West to the Outer Banks — pulled directly from NOAA's tidal station network and updated every day. No charts from last week. No predictions from another location. The real times, for the real beach, today.
How to Read a Tide Chart
A tide chart shows when the ocean will be at its highest and lowest points throughout the day. High tide is when the water reaches its maximum height; low tide is when it recedes to its minimum. Most beaches experience two high tides and two low tides every 24 hours, spaced roughly six hours apart.
The height shown in feet is measured above MLLW — Mean Lower Low Water — the standard reference used by NOAA. A height of 0.0 ft means the water is at its chart reference level. A negative tide, such as -0.5 ft, exposes more beach and is ideal for tidepooling and shelling.
Best time to swim: The two hours around low tide offer the calmest, shallowest entry. Best time to surf: The incoming flood tide, two to three hours before high tide, tends to produce the best wave shape. Best time to shell: Low tide, especially a minus tide, exposes the most beach and the best finds.