At 8:26 a.m. on Christmas Eve, the water at the Newport Bay entrance is predicted to reach 7.169 feet above mean lower low water. That's the highest prediction from NOAA's Newport Beach station for any of this winter's king tide dates. The same water fills the channels and marsh of Upper Newport Bay. A month earlier, the run of big tides covers Thanksgiving week. It peaks at 8:32 a.m. on Wednesday, November 25, the day before Thanksgiving, and still reaches 6.885 feet at 9:18 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning.
That timing shapes the whole season on the Back Bay. Winter is when the most birds are on the bay, and the guided walks, boat trips and open houses all happen in the morning. Most of the winter programs are done by early afternoon. This winter's most dramatic water lands during the hours a household is still making coffee.
The tide clock runs early this winter
The California King Tides Project lists three statewide windows for this season: November 24 to 26, December 23 to 25, and January 21 to 22. Here are NOAA's tide predictions for those dates at station 9410580, Newport Bay Entrance. Times are local and heights are in feet.
| Date | Morning high | Evening high |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., Nov. 24 | 7:50 a.m., 6.93 ft | 9:40 p.m., 3.81 ft |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | 8:32 a.m., 7.02 ft | 10:35 p.m., 3.70 ft |
| Thu., Nov. 26, Thanksgiving | 9:18 a.m., 6.89 ft | 11:36 p.m., 3.63 ft |
| Wed., Dec. 23 | 7:38 a.m., 7.08 ft | 9:41 p.m., 3.77 ft |
| Thu., Dec. 24, Christmas Eve | 8:26 a.m., 7.17 ft | 10:27 p.m., 3.86 ft |
| Fri., Dec. 25, Christmas | 9:15 a.m., 7.01 ft | 11:14 p.m., 3.96 ft |
| Thu., Jan. 21 | 7:35 a.m., 6.99 ft | 9:21 p.m., 4.11 ft |
| Fri., Jan. 22 | 8:23 a.m., 7.04 ft | 9:58 p.m., 4.36 ft |
Each evening high is barely half the morning one, so on all eight dates the big water comes in daylight, between 7:35 and 9:20 a.m. These are astronomical predictions, not observed levels. The City of Newport Beach warns that high tides and storms can flood roadways and close streets temporarily, so actual conditions on a given morning can call for detours. The King Tides Project also notes that king tide days bring extreme low tides. If you go out on one of these mornings and come back that afternoon, you'll see the same shoreline at both ends of its range.
What the high water does for the birds
Water level matters on the Back Bay because of what's living there. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife describes the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve as salt marsh, mudflat and estuary. Its mudflats and high-tide loafing areas, the higher ground where birds rest while the flats are underwater, are especially valuable to migrating shorebirds and waterfowl. When a 7-foot tide covers the flats, the birds crowd onto whatever ground is still dry.
OC Parks says up to 35,000 birds may use Upper Newport Bay at one time during winter migration. OC Parks also counts the Light-footed Clapper Rail and Belding's Savannah Sparrow among the bay's rare or endangered species. The King Tides Project uses the rail's newer name, Light-footed Ridgway's Rail, and points readers to ongoing surveys of both birds.
Sea & Sage Audubon has scheduled its Back Bay outings around this season. All of them start in the morning:
- Wed., Nov. 18: Upper Newport Bay Pontoon Boat Trip, 8:15 to 11:30 a.m.
- Sun., Nov. 29: Upper Newport Bay Bird Walk, 8 to 11:30 a.m.
- Wed., Dec. 16: Pontoon Boat Trip, 8:15 to 11:30 a.m.
- Wed., Jan. 20: Pontoon Boat Trip, 8:15 to 11:30 a.m.
- Sun., Jan. 24: Bird Walk, 8 to 11:30 a.m.
- Wed., Feb. 17: Pontoon Boat Trip, 8:15 to 11:30 a.m.
- Sun., Feb. 28: Bird Walk, 8 to 11:30 a.m.
The bird walks meet at the Big Canyon parking lot on Back Bay Drive. The pontoon trips check in at 8:15 and leave at 8:30 from the Sea Scout Base, 1931 West Coast Highway. They cost $25 per person, and you must register in advance. The Newport Bay Conservancy also runs a Big Canyon Bird Survey, typically on the third Thursday of the month, lasting two to three hours.
Sundays at Shellmaker run 10 to 2
If you'd rather not be out by 8, Shellmaker Island is the easier entry point. The Back Bay Science Center holds a Community Day typically every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The current event listing runs these open houses every Sunday through December 27. Visitors can tour the facility and its labs, walk the Shellmaker Trail and see the native-plant nursery. Parking on site is free, and you don't need a reservation. The center also hosts a Marine Life Inventory one Saturday a month, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's free and open to the public, but you need to register.
Getting there takes a little planning. CDFW lists the reserve at 600 Shellmaker Road, open daily from sunrise to sunset. Cars on the Back Bay Drive route can only go one way, northbound from the Shellmaker Road gate toward the parking areas, the trailheads and Vista Point. Pedestrians and cyclists can travel in both directions. So if you drive in for a Sunday morning at the Science Center and want to stop at the Big Canyon lot afterward, you can keep going the same direction instead of turning around.
On the water by 10
The Newport Bay Conservancy's Discover Upper Newport Bay kayak tours leave from Newport Aquatic Center and run from 10 a.m. to noon. Tickets are $25 per person, and paddlers must be at least 8 years old. Here are the remaining 2026 dates:
- November: Saturday and Sunday the 14th and 15th, 21st and 22nd, 28th and 29th
- December: the 5th, 6th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th
The Conservancy describes its public tours as generally scheduled on Saturdays, so the Sunday dates on this year's list are extra. The tours fit the same morning schedule as the Audubon trips. The paddle on Saturday, November 28 comes two days after the Thanksgiving tide, and the December 26 and 27 tours come right after the Christmas run.
Big Canyon, from the lot
The Big Canyon parking lot is where the Audubon walks start and where the biggest restoration on the bay's east side is underway. The Newport Bay Conservancy calls Big Canyon the largest remaining natural canyon on the east side of Newport Bay, a 60-acre open space where Big Canyon Creek drains a 1,300-acre watershed into the reserve. Phase III restores 14 acres of historic salt marsh and adds transitional wetland habitat. It also lets salt water reach farther up the canyon, so the marsh has room to move inland as sea level rises.
Back Bay Drive and the Big Canyon lot have stayed open through construction. The through-trails between the lot and Jamboree were closed temporarily for the work, so check the Conservancy's project page for current access before you plan a walk inland from the lot. The Phase II plantings are still being monitored and maintained, and the Conservancy has posted a plant palette so visitors can learn to recognize what was planted as it grows.
The bay's one evening program sits at the lower end
Down at the bottom of Back Bay Drive, the schedule finally moves to the evening. Newport Dunes opens its 36th Lighting of the Bay on November 27, and it runs nightly through January 3, 2027. The Fire & Lights Festival runs Thursday through Sunday evenings over the same stretch at 1131 Back Bay Drive. Entry is free, while parking and some activities cost extra. The festival opens the night after Thanksgiving, so the first king tide run and the first lit evening fall about 36 hours apart.
The festival closes on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, but the floating Lighting of the Bay display stays lit, rain or shine. On Christmas Eve, the winter's highest predicted water peaks at 8:26 a.m., and the lights are on the bay that night.
Living near Back Bay Drive puts an 8 a.m. bird walk or a Christmas Eve high tide a few minutes from home. If you're thinking about how that kind of access figures into what your own Newport Beach home is worth, Weir Properties can walk you through it. Request a Home Valuation and we'll put together a figure built around your street, your views and your proximity to the bay.