In Cannon Beach, This Winter's King Tides Arrive on Thanksgiving and Christmas Weeks
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
"December and January roll in with a splash with the return of the king tides," the Haystack Rock Awareness Program writes in its seasonal guide to the rock. This season the first splash comes earlier. The official 2026–2027 king tide windows, posted by Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, are November 23–27, December 22–26 and January 20–24. The first window includes Thanksgiving on November 26. The second covers Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
For anyone in Cannon Beach hosting family this year, the highest tides of the winter fall during the two busiest hosting weeks. The daily pattern of those tides is also unusual. The biggest water comes in around lunchtime, and the deepest low tides come in the evening. That pattern makes for a simple holiday routine: go to the beach near midday, then head to town for the afternoon and evening.
The dates are chosen each fall by staff at the Oregon Coastal Management Program, part of the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. They pick a series of days among the highest predicted winter tides. Volunteers with the Oregon King Tides Project then photograph how far the water reaches.
The tide chart page from the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce directs Cannon Beach to the North Jetty, Washington station, using predictions from NOAA. In NOAA's predictions for that station, the highest daytime tide of each window falls between late morning and early afternoon, Pacific time:
| Window | Highest predicted daytime tide | What's on the town calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 23–27 | 9.42 ft at 12:07 p.m., Wed., Nov. 25 | The Wizard of Oz at Coaster Theatre Playhouse; Mimosa Madness Weekend begins Nov. 27 |
| Dec. 22–26 | 9.62 ft at 11:56 a.m., Thu., Dec. 24 | Cannon Beach in Lights, all month |
| Jan. 20–24 | 9.41 ft at 11:53 a.m., Fri., Jan. 22 | Outside the holiday season |
Christmas Eve's late-morning tide is the highest predicted in any of the three windows. The heights are measured against mean lower low water, and North Jetty is a subordinate station referenced to Astoria. That makes these figures a forecast for the area, not a reading at the foot of Haystack Rock. The Chamber's page also notes that predictions are in Pacific Time and that actual tides can vary with local conditions.
The window is short, and two days on either side show why. On Sunday, November 22, the day before it opens, the biggest predicted high is 8.47 feet at 10:01 a.m. On Sunday, November 29, two days after it closes, the biggest is 7.66 feet at 3:41 p.m. In between, the midday tide stays above 9 feet for five straight days.
Each day also has a second, much smaller high tide around 1 or 2 a.m. On November 25 the overnight high is 6.89 feet, about two and a half feet below that day's midday high of 9.42. The water worth watching comes in during daylight.
Here is the week in Pacific time, from the same NOAA table:
The evening column matters for anyone hoping to walk guests out to the tidepools at Haystack Rock. The minus tides that make for good tidepooling all come between about 5:30 and 9 p.m. this week, including a -1.05 ft low at 8:50 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27. The daytime lows are much shallower and come before dawn. On Tuesday, for example, the morning low is 3.17 feet at 5:15 a.m. In late November, the tide that brings big water at noon also puts the best tidepooling hours in the evening.
The window ends Friday, November 27, the same day Mimosa Madness Weekend begins. The Chamber's Haystack Holidays 2026 calendar describes it as a Plaid Friday and Small Business Saturday weekend, running November 27–29, with many downtown shops offering extended hours, store-wide sales and festive drinks. That Friday's high tide is predicted at 1:45 p.m. That leaves time for a look at the water after lunch before the shops' longer hours carry into the afternoon.
The rest of the weekend's schedule leaves the middle of the day open for the beach:
For evenings, Coaster Theatre Playhouse runs The Wizard of Oz from November 20 through December 20. Shows start at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday performances at 3 p.m. The Chamber describes the production as a stage musical built on the score from the MGM film. Tickets are sold online, at the box office or by phone at 503-436-1242. During Thanksgiving week, a 7:30 curtain falls near the evening's lowest tide, so a family can see the high water at noon and the show at night. For anyone keeping costs down, the theater has set Thursday, December 10, as its pay-what-you-will date.
The 24 days between the first two tide windows hold most of the season's community events. The Chamber's 2026 list includes:
December 20 is also the last day of the window display contest and the closing performance of The Wizard of Oz. Apart from the December lights, the scheduled holiday events wrap up two days before the second king tide window opens.
From December 22 to 26, the town's lights stay up but the events calendar is mostly empty. Cannon Beach in Lights runs December 1–31, with public voting on favorite business displays through the end of the month and winners announced the next day. The tides that week, from NOAA's December predictions, in Pacific time:
The peak arrives about an hour later each day. On Christmas Day, an early-afternoon walk lines up with the high tide at 12:48 p.m., and the December 26 high comes after lunch. For a rainy afternoon indoors, the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum has The Pursuit of Happiness, a traveling exhibition, on its calendar through December 31, open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Last season's first king tides gave a good sense of where people go to watch. OPB's coverage on November 7, 2025 included photos from Tolovana Park in Cannon Beach, at Haystack Rock, and at Indian Beach in Ecola State Park, where OPB described crowds gathering to watch. Anyone planning a hike at Ecola should know that Oregon Parks and Recreation Department lists the west section of the Clatsop Loop Trail as closed since April 17, 2026, because of an active landslide.
Safety guidance from the people who know this beach best, before taking anyone down to the sand at noon on a 9-foot tide:
If you want your photos to be part of the record, Oregon Shores has a volunteer interest form for the Oregon King Tides Project on its King Tides page. The windows are the same ones on the calendar above.
If the holidays have you wondering what life in Cannon Beach looks like through all four seasons, the team at Andrea Mace knows this town on tide time as well as on paper. Schedule your concierge consultation, and we'll talk through the Cannon Beach streets and beach accesses that fit the way you like to spend a winter day.
Want to sell now or in the future? Let's start a conversation about how my services can be put to use to market and sell your home to a qualified buyer.