Simple Tides / Guides / Providence Tides

Providence Tide Chart

Providence sits at the head of Narragansett Bay, where a four-to-five-foot semidiurnal tide sets the rhythm for quahoggers, striper anglers, and everyone crossing the bay’s bridges and channels.

The pattern

Two highs and two lows daily with roughly four to five feet of range — a bit more than down-bay at Newport, since the tide amplifies as it funnels up the bay. The upper Providence River runs a touch later than the bay mouth.

Quahogging and fishing

Rhode Island’s state shellfish — the quahog — is dug on the low tides, when more flat exposes. Striped bass and bluefish push up the bay in season, and the Seekonk and Providence rivers concentrate fish on moving water. Check shellfish closures before you dig.

Boating the upper bay

The hurricane barrier at Fox Point is a reminder of what storm surge can do here — but day to day, it is the tide and the channel markers that matter. Mind the shallows outside the dredged channels at low water. For the region, see our New England tide guide.