Oregon Coast King Tides 2024 - 25: What's New, Different, Full Dates (Including Washington)

Published 10/23/24 at 6:35 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – Those mesmerizing King Tides and their dramatic wave action: it's not just a science project anymore, it's a serious attraction on the Oregon coast and the Washington coast. (Photo of Gleneden Beach: Bob Loewen / Oregon King Tides)

So when are the Oregon King Tides coming for 2024 – 2025? It starts November 15 - 17, 2024; continues December 13-15, 2024; and it has its final display on January 11-13, 2025.

What's different this year? What about other king tides up north in Washington? And what areas are they lacking documentation from?

This year, what's different and new for the Oregon King Tides is not just the dates, but also what's missing. The last two years, Oregon King Tides Project touted a fourth set of dates in February. That is not happening. There has also been photo contests in recent years – and so far that is not going on, either.

What is the same is that Oregon King Tides Project needs people to take photos of the event to capture what the future holds for the Oregon coastline.

To that end, there is also the Washington Coast King Tides 2024, with a different group overseeing that one. Dates for Washington King Tides this year are November 15 – 17; December 14 – 16; and January 12 – 14 for most places. Note they are slightly different than Oregon's dates. At least one outer coast section of Washington has slightly different dates in January, and the dates for the inner coastal regions of Washington are different as well, such as areas like Bellingham, Seattle or Port Angeles. See the Washington King Tides Project for detailed dates.

Oregon King Tides - one of the winners last year from Depoe Bay, taken by Pelirrojo Productions

Rhiannon Bezore is Oregon King Tides Project coordinator as of this year, and with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. She said there's different categories this year.

“We're asking participants to submit photos in the following categories: Coastal Flooding, Coastal Erosion and Wave Action, Impacts on Bays and Estuaries, and Comparison Shots,” Bezore said. “Documenting the king tides helps us track impacts from these high tide events on our coastal communities over time and helps us visualize what sea level rise may look like in the future.”

Waldport

Sea rise is inevitable and both the Oregon coast and Washington coastline are susceptible. Proof of that even now is the greater erosion taking place at areas around Gleneden Beach in Oregon and North Cove in Washington (which is essentially disappearing).

“This gives us a chance to identify areas already susceptible to flooding and erosion that may need more attention in the future under higher sea levels, as our highest tide water levels now may be normal high tide levels in the future,” Bezore said.

Bezore said there are a few places they need more photos of – spots a little ignored in past Oregon King Tides events.

“We’d love to see photos from bays and estuaries, as well as comparison shots showing the same location during normal high tides vs king tides,” she said. “Astoria, Lincoln City, and Coos Bay are all somewhat under-represented in previous photo submissions, so those might be good places to see more photos from.”

However, safety is of the utmost importance.

“As always, we emphasize that participants should prioritize their safety when photographing and viewing king tides, including maintaining a safe distance from the waves and respecting all beach and road closures,” she said.

What to expect? A fair amount of time, king tides really do come through as winter storms combine with them to create some wild fury. Almost as often, the events are duds, however.

What are king tides?

They are actually called perigean spring tides, referring to the highest tides of the year. They are created when the moon and sun line up just right, and their combined gravitational force yanks at the Earth much more than any other time of year, creating bulges in the planet that “move” the tides.

See Weird Science of Tides Along Oregon / Washington Coast: Loosening the Moon - How They Push Moon Away.

How to submit your photos? On the Washington coast, submit them to https://mycoast.org/wa. On the Oregon coast, submit them to www.oregonkingtides.net or the project’s Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/orkingtide/albums.

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

MORE PHOTOS BELOW

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

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.

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright © Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted