Below the Palisades, This Season's Lowest Tides Arrive in the Afternoon and Race the Sunset

On Wednesday, November 25, the water off San Pedro is predicted to drop to 1.47 feet below the zero line at 4:00 p.m. That's the lowest daytime tide of the month at NOAA's Los Angeles Outer Harbor station. Sunset that day is 4:44 p.m. That leaves 44 minutes of light on the most exposed reef of November. One day later, on Thanksgiving, the low arrives at 4:52 p.m., eight minutes after the sun is gone.

That's the pattern below the Palisades this season. From White Point to Point Fermin, the year's best tidepool afternoons come in short runs. Each run starts in the early afternoon and moves closer to sunset every day. The water bottoms out in the later part of the run, when there's the least light left. So the deepest day of a run is often not the best day to go.

Why the low tide shows up later each day

Tides follow the moon, not the clock. NOAA's tide primer puts the lunar day at 24 hours and 50 minutes, so a given tide comes back roughly 50 minutes later each solar day. The West Coast also has mixed semidiurnal tides. That means two highs and two lows a day, and they're unequal, so one low is much lower than the other. NOAA explains that the extreme lows bunch up around the new and full moons, and that Earth's distance from the sun makes the range larger around January than in July.

The seasonal flip is what pushes those extreme lows into daylight. The National Park Service's tidepool page for Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego says Southern California's extreme lows come at night in summer and in daylight in winter. Put those together and you get the San Pedro schedule for November and December. Each run of negative afternoon lows starts around lunchtime, gets later by 35 to 50 minutes a day, and ends near or after sunset. At the same time, sunsets reach their earliest of the year.

The four runs, set against the sunset

Low tide times and heights below come from NOAA's predictions for station 9410660, Los Angeles Outer Harbor, in local Pacific time. Sunset times are timeanddate's tables for Los Angeles. "Light left" means how long you have between the predicted low and sunset.

The late-December run is the deepest of the season. On Christmas Eve the water drops to −1.87 feet at 3:52 p.m., the lowest daytime low across both months, and there's still almost an hour of light left. The day before, December 23, is only seven hundredths of a foot shallower and gives you 1 hour and 41 minutes. In November, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving works the same way. November 24's 3:11 p.m. low at −1.38 feet is just 0.09 feet off the month's lowest daytime low, with twice the daylight of November 25.

The free walks land well before sunset

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium runs educator-led Tidepool Walks to the Point Fermin tidepools. Each one starts with a short orientation, then a naturalist leads the group out to the rocks. The walks are free and open to all ages. Children need to come with an adult, and groups of 15 or more are asked to reserve. This month's walks are Saturday, November 7, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.; Sunday, November 8, from 1:30 to 3 p.m.; and Sunday, November 22, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

Check those dates against the table. All three fall on the first or second day of a run, when the negative low comes in early afternoon and you still have hours of light afterward. The Aquarium's December calendar has walks on December 5 and 6, at the start of that run, and then on December 20, 22 and 23. The last two fall in the deep part of the Christmas run, and on both days the low still comes more than an hour and a half before sunset. The calendar doesn't list December start times yet, so check before you go. Point Fermin Park is at 807 Paseo del Mar. The park is open 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the parking lot follows seasonal sunrise-to-sunset hours. On short days, a lot that closes at sunset is one more reason not to wait for the last days of a run.

White Point is open, with construction next door

The other half of this shoreline is White Point and Royal Palms Beach, at 1799 Paseo del Mar, run by LA County Beaches and Harbors. A paved road goes from the bluff down to the beach and the lower parking, and the county says the White Point tidepools are to the left of that road. Parking hours are dawn to 8:30 p.m., and the upper bluff has metered spaces.

Down at the beach, things look different than they did a year ago because of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts' Clearwater project. The county says both beaches stay open during construction. Parking is limited to areas north and south of the work zone, including ADA spaces, and the relocated public showers and restrooms are still open. Crews generally work Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and construction is expected to continue through 2027. The Daily Breeze reported in March that site preparation had resumed at Royal Palms on that weekday schedule. The Sanitation Districts' Clearwater project site posted an August 20 update about a concrete crane pad under construction and a day of concrete deliveries. For how the tunnel work and the bluff's other long-running project overlap on the same stretch of coast, see our earlier look at the two clocks running on the Palisades bluff.

The construction schedule matters for tidepool timing. Weekend lows don't overlap with crew hours at all. On weekdays, the November 9 low at 3:23 p.m. and the November 24 low at 3:11 p.m. come right around the 3:30 p.m. end of the workday.

Mornings on the bluff, afternoons on the reef

When the tide is high in the morning, the White Point Nature Preserve is the place to be. The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy runs programs from the White Point Nature Education Center at 1600 W. Paseo del Mar, and a few of them line up with the low-tide runs:

1. Sunday, November 8. Habitat restoration volunteer morning at White Point from 9 a.m. to noon, then the Aquarium's 1:30 p.m. walk at Point Fermin ahead of the 2:47 p.m. low.
2. Saturday, November 14. The Conservancy's moderate "Honoring Veterans" walk at 9 a.m. goes through coastal sage habitat and past a former World War II gun emplacement, with family activities at the Nature Education Center. There's no negative tide that afternoon, so this is a bluff-only day.
3. Sunday, November 15. A second restoration volunteer morning, 9 a.m. to noon.
4. Saturday, November 21. A guided walk about ocean views and native wildlife at 10:30 a.m. from 1600 W. Paseo del Mar. The 1:02 p.m. low that day stays just above zero, so it's a preview for the deeper run that starts the next afternoon.
5. Saturday, November 28. A native plant garden tour from 11 to 11:30 a.m. at the Nature Education Center.
6. Wednesday, December 2. The free first-Wednesday bird walk at 9 a.m., led by naturalist Bob Shanman, with binoculars provided.
7. Sunday, December 6. A volunteer morning from 9 a.m. to noon with native shrub planting, weed removal, watering and trail grooming, on the same day as an Aquarium tidepool walk and a 2:08 p.m. low at −0.47 feet.
8. Saturday, December 26. Another native plant garden tour, 11 to 11:30 a.m.

If you want more of the bluff between low tides, our guide to bluffside parks and coastal trails in San Pedro covers the walking routes between White Point and Point Fermin.

On the rocks

The National Park Service's tidepool guidance for Cabrillo National Monument asks visitors to leave animals, shells and rocks where they are. Don't pry attached animals off the rocks, don't flip rocks over, and leave containers, nets and probing tools at home. The Aquarium recommends outdoor clothes and sneakers for its walks. On a 3:52 p.m. low, you'll probably be climbing back up in the last light, so good shoes help.

At Randazzo Real Estate, many of us spend our weekends on this stretch of Paseo del Mar too. If you're wondering what a home near White Point or Point Fermin is worth this season, Randazzo Real Estate is happy to put together a free home valuation for you. Just reach out, and we'll answer your questions about the bluff too.