California's tidepool calendar is turning toward afternoon lows. September 27 is a modest, above-zero option at all four covered stations; October 25 brings Good-rated minus-tide windows. The deepest lows with daylight somewhere in their surrounding windows fall on December 24 in our July–December dataset: −1.88 ft at La Jolla (NOAA 9410230) and San Diego (9410170), −1.83 ft at Monterey (9413450), and −1.90 ft at Pillar Point (9414131). Daylight and park hours still decide what those numbers mean.
Daylight-window counts and rankings below require at least 30 minutes of daylight overlap, matching the station fact sheets.
California's four tidepool coasts
La Jolla, Cabrillo, Pacific Grove, Fitzgerald: the familiar names are useful starting points, but one tide table does not cover them all. These are the four reference stations used in this guide, with links to the local articles:
| Area | Reference station | NOAA id | Start here |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Jolla | La Jolla (Scripps Pier) | 9410230 | La Jolla tide pools |
| Point Loma / Cabrillo | San Diego | 9410170 | Cabrillo tide pools |
| Pacific Grove | Monterey | 9413450 | Pacific Grove tide pools |
| Pillar Point / Fitzgerald | Pillar Point Harbor | 9414131 | Fitzgerald tide chart and Pillar Point reef |
The station is a prediction reference, not a promise that every nearby reef has identical timing or access. In particular, La Jolla is not one unrestricted shoreline: the City of San Diego's Point La Jolla page documents year-round closure areas and their signage. For Pacific Grove, CDFW maps and describes the Asilomar and Pacific Grove Marine Gardens protected areas, whose boundaries and rules differ. The local articles provide the next level of detail.
September 27 versus October 25
The highest-scoring September window at every covered California station is Sunday, September 27. None of those four lows is a minus tide. A month later, Sunday, October 25 gives all four a Good-rated afternoon minus-tide window.
| Station | Sep 27 low, local time | Score | Oct 25 low, local time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Jolla | +0.22 ft, 4:17 PM | 55 · Fair | −0.37 ft, 3:27 PM | 65 · Good |
| San Diego | +0.21 ft, 4:22 PM | 55 · Fair | −0.35 ft, 3:31 PM | 65 · Good |
| Monterey | +0.46 ft, 5:48 PM | 44 · Fair | −0.17 ft, 4:52 PM | 61 · Good |
| Pillar Point | +0.19 ft, 5:57 PM | 52 · Fair | −0.52 ft, 4:59 PM | 68 · Good |
Computed 2026-09-10 from the four station fact sheets. Heights are feet MLLW; times are local Pacific time. These are selected lows, not complete daily high/low tables.
September is a lighter-water preview, not a repeat of July's dawn run. At San Diego, September 27's 4:22 PM low falls just eight minutes before Cabrillo's posted tidepool close. A station score does not account for that shortfall. October 25's 3:31 PM low is earlier relative to the same closing time.
For the full daily sequence, use the September and October calendars: La Jolla September / October, San Diego September / October, Monterey September / October, and Pillar Point September / October.
How the autumn calendar fills in
The numbers below count minus-tide windows with at least 30 minutes of daylight overlap, not necessarily lows that bottom out before sunset. They are whole-month totals, including dates already passed in September, and do not filter for park hours or holiday closures.
| Month, 2026 | La Jolla | San Diego | Monterey | Pillar Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| October | 6 | 6 | 5 | 9 |
| November | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| December | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 |
Computed 2026-09-10. Counts are station-specific opportunities, not a count of separate California visiting days. Our 2026 comparison period is July 1–December 31, station-local dates, not the full calendar year.
That is the useful seasonal shift: from scarce September overlap to a much fuller November and December. The dawn-lows explainer covers the summer pattern; the king-tide guide covers the winter high-water side. This article's old July trip suggestions are now history, not upcoming dates.
Christmas week: depth is only half the comparison
December 24 has the deepest low in each station's July–December daylight-overlap ranking. The clock tells a more complicated story.
| Date, 2026 | La Jolla | San Diego | Monterey | Pillar Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Dec 22 | −1.49 ft, 2:17 PM | −1.49 ft, 2:20 PM | −1.41 ft, 3:31 PM | −1.56 ft, 3:34 PM |
| Wed, Dec 23 | −1.80 ft, 3:02 PM | −1.81 ft, 3:05 PM | −1.73 ft, 4:19 PM | −1.85 ft, 4:22 PM |
| Thu, Dec 24 | −1.88 ft, 3:47 PM | −1.88 ft, 3:50 PM | −1.83 ft, 5:06 PM | −1.90 ft, 5:10 PM |
| Fri, Dec 25 | −1.72 ft, 4:33 PM | −1.71 ft, 4:36 PM | −1.71 ft, 5:53 PM | −1.72 ft, 5:58 PM |
Computed 2026-09-10 from the station fact sheets. Feet MLLW, local Pacific time. A listed low is not a statement that the site is open or that the low occurs in daylight.
On December 24 the La Jolla-to-Pillar Point difference is 83 minutes. This is a comparison of this date's predictions, not a fixed coast-wide offset. Monterey's 5:06 PM low and Pillar Point's 5:10 PM low both occur after sunset. Their earlier, falling-tide windows overlap daylight for 167 and 157 minutes respectively; those daylight minutes do not extend to the bottom of the tide.
Scores can also favor a shallower holiday window. La Jolla's December 25 low scores 90 (Exceptional), while its deeper December 24 low scores 84 (Great). The methodology explains the daylight and weekend/holiday factors. Neither score incorporates a park gate.
Cabrillo and Fitzgerald: compare the clock with the gate
Cabrillo: NPS posts a 9 AM–5 PM park day and a 4:30 PM tidepool-area close, with the park closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The San Diego lows on December 22, 23, and 24 fall before that tidepool close. December 25 is not a Cabrillo option, regardless of its station score. NPS also notes that the tidepool road can close temporarily when parking reaches capacity in its visit guidance.
Fitzgerald: the county hours page lists an 8 AM opening, including holidays. Closing is 7 PM after Labor Day through October 11, 6 PM October 12–November 1, and 5 PM from November 2 through February 2027. December 23's 4:22 PM low falls 38 minutes before the winter close. December 24's deeper 5:10 PM low falls ten minutes after it. Operating hours can change with conditions; this arithmetic is not access clearance.
The same distinction applies elsewhere. A public shoreline is not automatically an always-open access route. This guide does not certify unrestricted entry at La Jolla, Pacific Grove, or Pillar Point; use the exact location's current official information.
Choose your dates, then open the local guide
- La Jolla: compare the stronger late-autumn and December scores, then use the local guide and the city's current closure information for the particular shore.
- Cabrillo: use the park-specific guide alongside NPS hours. A high station score on a closed holiday is not an itinerary.
- Pacific Grove: use the Monterey/Pacific Grove guide for the named locations and protected-area context. December 23's low is earlier than December 24's, even though it is shallower.
- Half Moon Bay area: the Fitzgerald guide adds its posted-hours comparison; the Pillar Point guide is a separate local reference, not a way to bypass the reserve's hours.
For safety and tidepool-handling guidance, use the relevant park's official instructions. At Cabrillo, NPS states: “Collecting any natural items, including living and dead organisms, shells, or rocks, is strictly forbidden.” Read the complete NPS guidance.
The California beaches hub collects all four stations. For dates already on your calendar, the Trip Picker ranks the predicted windows during your stay; the Tide Window Finder shows the next month, and the year heatmap shows the broader pattern.
These are NOAA tide predictions, not observations. A modeled interval below +1.0 ft MLLW is not a universal access or safety threshold, and the score is not a weather assessment. The methodology explains the limits. For planning, keep the station's prediction, actual daylight, and the site's official access information as three separate checks.