Hampton Beach, NH tide times

Hampton Beach is the dominant beach resort on New Hampshire's 29-kilometre ocean coast, a wide barrier beach backed by an estuarine inlet system and faced by the open Atlantic with exposure to south and east swells. The tidal regime is semidiurnal — two high and two low tides per day — with a mean spring range around 2.7 metres MLLW, putting Hampton firmly in the moderate-energy Gulf of Maine tidal system. The spring tide difference between high and low water moves the beach waterline 30 to 40 metres horizontally across the gently sloping foreshore, transforming the beach profile from a full-width expanse at low water to a narrowed, steeper face at high.

Hampton Harbor inlet, on the north end of the beach, is the tidal gateway for Hampton River and the back-bay marsh system that lies behind the barrier. The inlet narrows to roughly 100 metres at the mouth, which accelerates the tidal current significantly — on spring tides, ebb current through the inlet mouth reaches 2 to 3 knots, noticeable enough to affect swimmers near the jetties and to require active management by paddlers and small motorboats. The Hampton charter fishing fleet launches through the inlet, and the timing of departure is loosely coordinated with the tidal state — the outgoing tide provides a free push toward the offshore fishing grounds, and captains returning at the end of the day typically time arrivals on the final hours of the ebb to maintain depth through the shoaling inlet bar.

The surf break at Hampton Beach is sand bottom with a moveable bar system. Low tide tends to expose the outer bar and produce a faster, more critical wave if there's any Atlantic swell running; high tide covers the bar and softens the break. Summer swells are generally small (under 1 metre), but autumn and winter bring consistent 1.5 to 2.5 metre northeast and east ground swells that make Hampton one of the better beach breaks on the New Hampshire coast. The state's small coastline means Hampton is one of just two or three viable surf locations in New Hampshire, and the local surf community is tight-knit and protective of the conditions.

For beachgoers and swimmers, the 2.7-metre range creates a meaningful daily rhythm. The first hour of the outgoing tide — when the full beach is still covered and the water is at its peak height — is when rip current risk is highest at Hampton, as the beach's diagonal current channels drain quickly through cuts in the outer bar. By mid-ebb, the beach is wide, the bars are exposed, and the outgoing current has slowed. Lifeguard flags at Hampton indicate current conditions; the beach is patrolled in season (late June through Labor Day).

The Seabrook Nuclear Power Station is visible to the north from the Hampton Beach state park, its cooling structure a persistent landmark on the skyline. The station sits on the tidal flat edge at Seabrook Harbor — a reminder that industrial and recreational coastal use coexist on this short coast. The Seabrook Beach area immediately adjacent to the plant boundary is residential and quieter than the Hampton Beach resort core.

Predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a global gridded ocean model. Accuracy is typically within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height — model-derived, not from a local NOAA gauge. For authoritative US tidal data, consult NOAA CO-OPS at tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov; the nearest primary reference station is Boston (station 8443970) with Hampton using a subordinate offset.