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Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point), CA · California · united-states

Tide is currently rising — next high in 13m

1.32 m / 4.3ft
Next high · 08:34 GMT-7
Heights relative to MLLW · 2026-04-27Coef. 75Solunar 3/5

Tide times at Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point), CA on Monday, 27 April 2026: first low tide at 02:46am, first high tide at 08:34am, second low tide at 02:41pm, second high tide at 09:06pm. Sunrise 06:19am, sunset 07:55pm.

Next 24 hours at Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point), CA

0.0 m0.9 m1.8 mHeight (MLLW)09:0013:0017:0021:0001:0005:00H 08:34L 14:41H 21:06L 03:34nowTime (America/Los_Angeles)

Predictions: NOAA CO-OPS station 9414131 — heights relative to MLLW.

Harmonic prediction from the official tide authority. Very high accuracy under normal conditions; storm surge may shift actual water level. Not for navigation.

Sun, moon and conditions on Mon 27 Apr

Sunrise
06:19
Sunset
19:55
Moon
Waxing gibbous
83% illuminated
Coefficient
75
Spring cycle

Highs and lows next 7 days

Today
1.3m / 4.3ft08:34
0.2m / 0.6ft14:41
Coef. 76
Tue
1.3m / 4.3ft09:33
0.2m / 0.5ft03:34
Coef. 80
Wed
1.3m / 4.3ft10:24
0.0m / 0.0ft04:15
Coef. 91
Thu
1.3m / 4.2ft11:12
-0.1m / -0.3ft04:53
Coef. 97
Fri
1.2m / 4.1ft11:59
-0.2m / -0.6ft05:30
Coef. 100
Sat
1.2m / 4.0ft12:46
-0.2m / -0.6ft06:07
Coef. 100
Sun
1.2m / 3.9ft13:33
-0.2m / -0.6ft06:44
Coef. 97
All extrema (7 days)
DayTypeTimeHeightCoef.
Mon 27 AprHigh08:341.3m / 4.3ft76
Low14:410.2m / 0.6ft
High21:061.6m / 5.3ft
Tue 28 AprLow03:340.2m / 0.5ft80
High09:331.3m / 4.3ft
Low15:200.3m / 1.0ft
High21:351.7m / 5.5ft
Wed 29 AprLow04:150.0m / 0.0ft91
High10:241.3m / 4.3ft
Low15:550.4m / 1.3ft
High22:021.7m / 5.6ft
Thu 30 AprLow04:53-0.1m / -0.3ft97
High11:121.3m / 4.2ft
Low16:270.5m / 1.7ft
High22:291.7m / 5.7ft
Fri 01 MayLow05:30-0.2m / -0.6ft100
High11:591.2m / 4.1ft
Low16:570.6m / 2.1ft
High22:561.7m / 5.6ft
Sat 02 MayLow06:07-0.2m / -0.6ft100
High12:461.2m / 4.0ft
Low17:270.7m / 2.4ft
High23:241.7m / 5.5ft
Sun 03 MayLow06:44-0.2m / -0.6ft97
High13:331.2m / 3.9ft
Low17:560.8m / 2.6ft
High23:531.6m / 5.4ft

Predictions: NOAA CO-OPS station 9414131 — heights relative to MLLW. · Not for navigation.

Fishing windows · 7-day rating

The angler tradition that rates each day for fish-bite likelihood using moon transits and rise/set. One to five stars, not a scientific forecast.

Cycle dates near Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point), CA

Next spring tide on Fri 01 May (range 1.9m / 6.3ft). Last neap on Sun 26 Apr. Next neap on Sat 09 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

About tides at Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point), CA

Half Moon Bay sits on the open Pacific coast of San Mateo County, about 50 km south of San Francisco, with the working harbour at Pillar Point on its northern shore and the long sand of Surfer's Beach, Miramar, and the Half Moon Bay State Beaches running south to the Tunitas Creek mouth. Pillar Point itself is the point of land that gives the harbour its breakwater, and just outside the breakwater is the offshore reef called Mavericks — one of the world's most serious big-wave surf breaks, working in winter on solid northwest groundswells with faces routinely topping 15 metres. The tide signature here is the open Pacific mixed-semidiurnal signal that the entire California coast shares — two highs and two lows of unequal size each day, the bigger swing falling on the lower-low water — with a moderate range. Mean range at the Pillar Point gauge is about 1.6 metres, climbing past 2.1 metres on spring tides and dropping near 1.0 on neaps. The local tide signature matters more for surf reading than for navigation: Mavericks works best at lower stages of the tide when the reef edge stands proud, and the inside breaks at Surfer's Beach reshape across each cycle. The harbour itself stays workable across the cycle for the commercial fishing fleet running out for Dungeness crab in winter and salmon in summer, and for the recreational charter boats heading offshore. Lowest spring lows around new and full moons open the rocky intertidal at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve just up the coast at Moss Beach for hours either side — one of the better protected tide-pool zones on the central California coast. Pacific storm surge from winter lows can shift apparent water level 10 to 20 cm above predicted; harmonic predictions assume calm. NOAA CO-OPS station 9414131 supplies the gridded predictions on this page.

Tide questions about Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point), CA

When is the next high tide at Half Moon Bay?
The hero block shows the next high tide at the Pillar Point gauge in local Pacific time (PST in winter, PDT in summer). The 7-day table covers all the highs and lows. High water at Pillar Point arrives about the same time as San Francisco's Pier 22½ gauge a short way north — both sit on the open Pacific coast and read close to in-phase.
What's the typical tide range at Half Moon Bay?
Mean range at the Pillar Point gauge is about 1.6 metres, climbing past 2.1 metres on spring tides and dropping near 1.0 metre on neaps. The pattern is mixed semidiurnal — two highs and two lows of unequal size each day, the bigger swing falling on the lower-low water — the standard Pacific coast signal that San Diego, Monterey, and the rest of California shares.
Where do these tide predictions come from?
NOAA CO-OPS station 9414131 at Pillar Point Harbour. NOAA computes predictions through harmonic analysis of decades of measured water levels at this exact gauge. That is the gold-standard method for tide prediction in US waters and produces accuracy you can plan a surf check, a tidepool walk, or a kayak crossing around — under normal weather.
Does the tide affect Mavericks surf?
Yes. Mavericks is a deep-reef break that works on solid northwest groundswells in winter. The break is best at lower stages of the tide when the outside reef edge stands proud — high water buries the reef and the wave loses its shape. Local surfers and tow-in crews read the tide table together with the swell forecast (the National Weather Service buoys at 46214 Point Reyes and 46026 San Francisco) and the wind forecast for the Pillar Point offshore zone.
Is this safe to use for navigation?
No. For piloting in or out of Pillar Point Harbour, working the offshore Mavericks zone, or transiting the open coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz use NOAA's authoritative chart products, the Coast Guard's notices to mariners, and the harbour-master's guidance for the breakwater entrance. Winter swell on the breakwater entrance is a working hazard; tow-in conditions at Mavericks are not a tide-table matter.
Predictions: NOAA CO-OPS station 9414131 — heights relative to MLLW.

Not for navigation. Page generated 2026-04-27T15:20:31.183Z. Predictions refresh daily.