What's Up (and Down) with Oregon / Washington Coast King Tides This Weekend

Published 01/09/25 at 6:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Gold Beach, Oregon) – The last of the season's king tides happens this weekend, from Saturday through Monday (Jan 11 – 13), where both the Oregon coast and Washington coast see larger-than-usual high tides and low tides. There is the Oregon King Tides Project and the Washington King Tides Project – and the pair of organizations are hoping you'll get out there and photograph what happens at high tide to assist scientists in figuring out how sea level rise will affect the region in the future. (Photo Washington King Tides / Cherie Fisher - Ocean Shores)

However, while you may see some extra-wowing inundation on the beaches, don't count on a major show of wave action. There are no storm systems combining with king tides over the weekend, so places like Cape Disappointment are not going to be displaying monster breakers.

You'll have to wait for the next storm system to hit the coastlines, but so far nothing like that is forecast in the near future. The National Weather Service (NWS) is showing only about 9-foot swells offshore over the weekend, and that's not enough to cause more than a little raucous at places like Yachats, Port Orford or Depoe Bay. Also see Update on S. Oregon Coast Closures at Sunset Bay Campground, Shore Acres

With fairly sunny to very sunny weather in the wings, the weekend will be a good one to hit the beach and snap some pics – whether it's for king tides or just a few selfies.

Cape Blanco, Port Orford

Wave height along the coastlines starts off a little wild but mellows just as king tides kick in.

See  Oregon Coast Weather (including tides) - Inland Oregon Weather

“Seas will also build back into the 10-14 ft range by Friday afternoon and persist into Saturday with the arrival of the larger mid period swell,” the NWS said. “Then look for winds and seas to trend back down as high pressure builds back over the region Sunday through early next week.”

Gold Beach / ODOT

Most areas will see high tides happen around 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and then in the 8- to 9-foot range. - See www.oregonkingtides.net - See the Washington King Tides Project for detailed dates as well as where to post your photos.

Low tides will be quite interesting as well: they hit -1 foot in many areas in the late afternoon (often just after sunset).

The good news on the daylight front is that Oregon and Washington have gained some 15 minutes of that since the winter solstice. Because the coastlines are roughly 70 miles west of most major population centers, the beaches will see sunset happening 5 to 10 minutes later than the I-5 Corridor and thus more around 5 p.m.

Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Oregon Coast Vacation Rentals - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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