FanVancouver · Local guide
King Tides Vancouver 2026-27: Dates, Times & Best Spots
King tide dates for Vancouver this winter from official tide predictions: the highest tides, their times, where the seawall floods and how to watch.
FanVancouver · Local guide
King tide dates for Vancouver this winter from official tide predictions: the highest tides, their times, where the seawall floods and how to watch.
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The highest tides of the year reach Vancouver on winter mornings, a few days at a time. Below are this winter's dates and times, worked out from the official Canadian Hydrographic Service predictions, plus where the water comes closest to the path and when a high tide turns into a flooded seawall.
Next king tides: 25 November to 1 December 2026
They start in 12 days. Highest predicted tide of that run: 4.94 m on Fri 27 Nov at 9:41 am.
Today, Fri 13 Nov: highest predicted tide 4.61 m at 10:16 am. That is 0.2 m below the king tide range on this page.
In effect now: Environment Canada has issued a coastal flooding statement for the Vancouver area. Wind and low pressure can lift the water well above the predicted height. See the live alert.
Predicted heights and times: Canadian Hydrographic Service, Vancouver gauge (station 07735), above chart datum. Retrieved 13 Nov 2026. Times are Pacific Time (PCT, UTC−7).
This winter has 24 days with a predicted high tide of 4.8 m or more at the Vancouver gauge, in 4 runs. The highest of the season is 5.07 m on Sun 27 Dec 2026 at 9:55 am. For comparison, the middle daily high this winter is 4.6 m. Every king tide on this list arrives between 7:13 am and 12:41 pm.
| Date | High tide | Predicted height |
|---|---|---|
| 25 November to 1 December 2026 | ||
| Wed 25 Nov | 8:04 am | 4.83 m |
| Thu 26 Nov | 8:53 am | 4.91 m |
| Fri 27 Nov | 9:41 am | 4.94 m peak of the run |
| Sat 28 Nov | 10:29 am | 4.94 m |
| Sun 29 Nov | 11:16 am | 4.93 m |
| Mon 30 Nov | 11:59 am | 4.90 m |
| Tue 1 Dec | 12:41 pm | 4.83 m |
| 23 to 30 December 2026 | ||
| Wed 23 Dec | 7:13 am | 4.81 m |
| Thu 24 Dec | 7:56 am | 4.94 m |
| Fri 25 Dec | 8:37 am | 5.00 m |
| Sat 26 Dec | 9:17 am | 5.04 m |
| Sun 27 Dec | 9:55 am | 5.07 m peak of the run |
| Mon 28 Dec | 10:31 am | 5.06 m |
| Tue 29 Dec | 11:07 am | 5.00 m |
| Wed 30 Dec | 11:40 am | 4.88 m |
| 22 to 27 January 2027 | ||
| Fri 22 Jan | 7:31 am | 4.88 m |
| Sat 23 Jan | 8:05 am | 4.95 m |
| Sun 24 Jan | 8:38 am | 5.01 m |
| Mon 25 Jan | 9:09 am | 5.03 m peak of the run |
| Tue 26 Jan | 9:40 am | 5.00 m |
| Wed 27 Jan | 10:09 am | 4.89 m |
| 21 to 23 February 2027 | ||
| Sun 21 Feb | 7:20 am | 4.82 m |
| Mon 22 Feb | 7:48 am | 4.86 m peak of the run |
| Tue 23 Feb | 8:16 am | 4.85 m |
“King tide” has no official definition, so the cut-off here is ours: a predicted high of 4.8 m or more at the Vancouver gauge in Burrard Inlet. Heights are measured above chart datum, the low-water reference used on nautical charts, not above the ground. For every high and low of the next few days, see the live Vancouver tide times.
It is a popular name, not a scientific term, for the very highest tides of the year. The US ocean service NOAA describes it the same way: a non-scientific term for exceptionally high tides. They come around a new or full moon when the Moon is also at perigee, the closest point of its orbit to Earth, so the pull of the Moon and the Sun on the ocean adds up.
In Vancouver the result shows in the table above: the top tides of the year cluster in runs of several days, about a month apart, from late autumn to late winter, and they arrive in the morning. Summer has tides almost as high, up to about 4.9 m in the same predictions, but they come late in the evening, between about 8 pm and midnight, and in calm weather. Winter puts its highest water in daylight and in storm season.
The predicted height is the astronomical tide alone. Real water also answers to the weather. A deep low-pressure system lets the sea surface rise, and a strong onshore wind piles water against the shore and puts waves on top of it. That extra height is the storm surge, and it is not in any tide table.
So read both: the dates on this page, and the live Vancouver weather alerts on the morning itself.
A windstorm and a storm surge arrived on a king tide. The Stanley Park seawall was closed from Sunset Beach to the Lions Gate Bridge. The worst damage was around Third Beach and between the Teahouse and Siwash Rock. Jericho Pier was significantly damaged, and in West Vancouver the Ambleside Park seawalk was heavily damaged and the Ambleside and Dundarave piers were closed. (Global News, 8 January 2022.)
A king tide peaked at about 9:40 am with strong wind behind it. The water level at Point Atkinson in West Vancouver reached 5.70 metres, passing the previous record of 5.61 metres from 1982, according to Environment Canada. The City had closed the seawall from the Lions Gate Bridge to English Bay and the stretch in front of Kitsilano Pool in advance, and warned of flood risk around English Bay, False Creek, Burrard Inlet, Southlands, Locarno and Spanish Banks. (Global News, 27 December 2022; Global News, 28 December 2022.)
These are the stretches named in the City's flood warnings and in the reports from 2022. On a calm king tide morning they are simply the places where the sea comes closest to the path.
Arrive half an hour before the time in the table and stay half an hour after: the water barely moves around the top of the tide. In late December the sun rises a little after 9 am Pacific Time, so the earliest highs of that run come in the dark. The later dates of each run are better for photographs.
A calm one is a free hour of sightseeing before breakfast. A stormy one is a reason to swap the seawall walk for an indoor morning and come back when it settles: rainy-day plan. For the full-size version of the same show, the open Pacific at Tofino is where people go on purpose: storm watching guide.
The West End puts you a few minutes on foot from English Bay, which matters at 8 am in December.
Where to stay in Vancouver → West End guide Vancouver in winter
In Vancouver the price depends on the neighbourhood far more than on the star rating. Compare live hotel and rental rates side by side before you lock your dates.
Tide data: Canadian Hydrographic Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Predictions are not a substitute for official tide tables for navigation.
In winter. The highest tides of the year in Vancouver arrive in runs of several days between late November and February, mostly in the morning. The exact dates and times for this winter are in the table on this page, taken from the Canadian Hydrographic Service predictions for the Vancouver gauge.
It is a popular name, not a scientific one, for the highest tides of the year. They come around a new or full moon when the Moon is also at its closest point to Earth. There is no official height that makes a tide a king tide. This page lists the days when the predicted high at the Vancouver gauge is 4.8 metres or more.
On a calm day, usually not: the water simply sits very high. Flooding and damage happen when a storm surge and strong wind arrive on top of a king tide, as on 7 January 2022 and 27 December 2022. Check the live weather alerts before you go.
English Bay and Sunset Beach, the Kitsilano shoreline, Jericho and Spanish Banks, and the Ambleside seawalk in West Vancouver. Watch from the grass or a raised spot behind the path, not from the edge of the seawall.
The tide itself is slow and predictable. The danger is waves on top of it: they throw logs and rocks onto the path and can knock a person down. Stay behind barriers, keep off piers and beach logs, and keep children and dogs away from the edge.
The predicted height is the astronomical tide only. Low pressure and onshore wind can add tens of centimetres. The highest water level on record at Point Atkinson, 5.70 metres on 27 December 2022, came from a storm surge on top of a king tide.
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