Simple Tides / Guides / Wilmington Tides
Wilmington, NC Tide Chart
Wilmington answers to the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic beaches beyond it — a four-to-five-foot semidiurnal tide that times the surf bite at Wrightsville Beach and the run through Masonboro Inlet.
Upcoming tides in Wilmington
Live NOAA predictions for station 8658120 (Wilmington).
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Heights in feet above MLLW, station local time. See the full interactive tide map.
The pattern
Two highs and two lows daily with around four to five feet of range on the oceanfront. River tides run later and a little smaller as you head upstream — the Cape Fear’s tide reaches far inland. Inlet tides lag the ocean slightly.
Surf and pier fishing
Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach are classic Southeast surf fisheries — red drum, flounder, and whiting on the moving tides, with the top of the incoming the premium window. The piers fish the same rhythm. Work the sloughs and cuts the falling tide exposes.
Boating the inlets
Masonboro Inlet is the ocean gateway and deserves respect on a running ebb — cross at slack or with the current when you can. The Intracoastal Waterway behind the beaches is the sheltered route. For the wider coast, see our Southeast Atlantic tide guide.