Hopewell Rocks tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 01:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are America/Halifax local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Sat 16 May (range 13.6m). Last neap on Fri 15 May. Next neap on Thu 21 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park occupies a stretch of shoreline at Hopewell Cape on the upper Bay of Fundy, where the mean spring tidal range reaches approximately 12.5 metres — among the largest anywhere in the world. The park is built entirely around a single physical fact: at low water you walk on the ocean floor between sea stacks carved by tidal erosion into mushroom shapes (the flowerpot rocks, named for their overhanging silhouette), and at high water those same rocks are submerged to their tops and you paddle a kayak above them. The transition between the two states takes roughly 6 hours, and the park manages visitor access strictly around that window. Entry times to the ocean floor are posted daily at the park gate and change with each tidal cycle — the accessible window is roughly 3 to 4 hours centred on low water, closing when water depth over the ocean floor approaches 0.3 metres. The path down to the ocean floor descends approximately 12 metres on wooden stairs. On a neap low tide the floor is exposed for less time and the visual scale is reduced; on a large spring low tide (within 2 to 3 days of new or full moon) the full extent of the eroded base is visible and the window is longest. Checking the day's specific low water time and height on the CHS tide tables is not optional — this is one of those places where being wrong about the tide produces a real consequence. Kayak tours operate at high water from the provincial park and from the nearby outfitter access points, paddling among the fully submerged flowerpot rock tops at surface level. The same formations that are walked around at low water are kayaked across at high water — the vertical distance between the two experiences is 12 to 13 metres on a large spring tide. Guides require tide-awareness briefings and operate with defined exit windows before the ebb begins to pull water away from the site. The Petitcodiac River tidal bore, 20 minutes north by car toward Moncton, advances from the Bay of Fundy twice daily as a visible wave 20 to 80 centimetres high on spring tides. The two phenomena are driven by the same tidal source — the same body of water that drains Hopewell Cape builds the bore that rolls upriver through Moncton. For photographers, the golden hour at low water on a clear morning, with the flowerpot rocks casting long shadows across the ocean floor and the distant mudflat horizon, is the standard shot. The evening ebb is less crowded. A wide lens for scale context and a telephoto to isolate individual stacks both pay off here. Predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model. Accuracy is typically within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height — model-derived, not from a local gauge. For authoritative Canadian tide data, consult the Canadian Hydrographic Service (tides.gc.ca).