Puerto Peñasco Tide Chart: Plan Rocky Point Beach Days Around the Tides

Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point, Mexico) has some of the largest tides in North America. During spring tides around the new and full moon, the difference between high and low tide can exceed 20 feet, and in Cholla Bay the water can retreat far across the flats. Most days have two high tides and two low tides. Check a current tide table before you head out, then match your activities to the tide.

This page is about Rocky Point in Sonora, Mexico, not Rocky Point in Maryland, Rhode Island, or Washington.

Check Today's Tides in Rocky Point

Tide times change every day, arriving roughly 50 minutes later than the day before, so check a current tide table on the morning you plan to go out. Any tide app or tide website works: search for Puerto Peñasco, Sonora and confirm the times and heights of today's low and high tides.

• Pick the right Rocky Point. Make sure the table is for Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico, not a Rocky Point in another state.
• Check the time zone. Sonora stays on Mountain Standard Time all year, the same as Arizona.
• Note the lowest number of the day. A negative number means a minus tide, the best time for tide pools.

Understand Why Rocky Point's Tides Are So Extreme

The Gulf of California is long and narrow, and Rocky Point sits near its northern end. As the tide pushes up the Gulf, the water has nowhere to spread out, so it piles up. The result is a tidal range far bigger than most beaches in North America, which is why the shoreline can look completely different just a few hours apart.

Read the Tide Chart Like a Local

• High tide: the highest water level of the cycle. Best for swimming and boating.
• Low tide: the lowest water level. Best for tide pools.
• Minus tide: a low tide that drops below the average low (shown as a negative number). These expose the most sea life.
• Spring tides: the biggest swings, around the new moon and full moon. Nothing to do with the season.
• Neap tides: the smallest swings, around the quarter moons.

Match Activities to the Tide

Low and Minus Tides: Go Tidepooling

Head out within an hour or two of low tide, especially a minus tide. In Cholla Bay you can find hermit crabs, sea snails, small fish, sea stars, and sometimes an octopus. Wear water shoes, watch your step on rocks, and leave everything where you found it.

High Tide: Swim, Kayak, and Paddleboard

High tide brings the best water depth for swimming and calm conditions in Cholla Bay for kayaks and paddleboards. Launch boats near high tide.

Incoming Tide: Stay Safe

• The incoming tide moves quickly across the flats and can cut off walkers.
• Note the time of low tide and head back well before the water turns.
• Never drive or park on the tidal flats. Vehicles get stuck and lost to the tide every year.

Watch the Tide Change from Our Rooftop

Cholla Bay Vista is about 100 feet from the water, so the rooftop is a front-row seat to the tide changing. At high tide the bay is full and calm. At low tide, especially during minus tides, the water pulls back across the flats; in front of JJ's Cantina, across the street, the beach can stretch half a mile or more.