Inlet & bar crossing conditions
When is a favorable window to cross? For each inlet we line up the tide and slack timing, the current wind with a wind-against-ebb flag, and the swell from the nearest buoy. It is a planning aid, never a clearance, and the Coast Guard bar report always comes first.
Pacific Northwest
Columbia River Bar
One of the most demanding bar crossings anywhere. The Columbia's ebb can run over 8 knots, and against a westerly swell and wind it builds steep, breaking seas across the entrance.
Grays Harbor (Westport)
A wide Washington bar that shoals and breaks in a strong ebb against onshore swell. The Coast Guard posts and, when needed, restricts it.
Yaquina Bay (Newport)
The Newport entrance is jettied but still bar-affected. A hard ebb over a long-period westerly swell is the combination to avoid.
Coos Bay (Charleston)
A commercial bar on the southern Oregon coast. Big long-period swell from the west stacks up on the ebb; the Coast Guard restricts it in hazardous conditions.
California
Mid-Atlantic
Oregon Inlet
An Outer Banks inlet with shifting sandbars and currents that can reach 7 knots. The channel moves, so local knowledge and current soundings matter as much as the tide.
Manasquan Inlet
A short jettied New Jersey inlet that turns steep and confused when the ebb runs out against an onshore easterly wind and swell.
Barnegat Inlet
One of New Jersey's more demanding inlets: strong currents, shoaling, and a dogleg channel. It builds quickly on an ebb against an east wind.
Southeast
St. Augustine Inlet
A northeast-Florida inlet with shoals that shift and are often unmarked. Deceptively calm on the flood, it can stand up fast on a strong ebb against an east swell.
Ponce de Leon Inlet
The New Smyrna entrance shoals and breaks on the ebb against an onshore swell, and has a long history of rough-inlet incidents. Time it for the flood or slack.
Jupiter Inlet
A swift southeast-Florida inlet with a strong ebb and a sandbar that breaks in an east swell. Boaters plan crossings around the current here more than most.
Haulover Inlet
The famous Miami inlet. It is short and deep, but a strong outgoing ebb against a fresh east wind piles up the steep, closely spaced chop it is known for.
Planning aid only, not for navigation and not a safety clearance. Where a US Coast Guard bar report exists it is the authority. Bars and inlets shift, conditions change fast, and only you can judge your boat and crew. If in doubt, don’t go out.
The three things that decide it
Easiest near slack at high water or on the flood. A strong ebb over a bar is the one to respect.
Wind against the ebb shortens and steepens the seas. The single biggest danger driver.
Long-period swell stands up as it feels the bar. A gentle offshore sea can break in the entrance.
Frequently asked
How do I know when it is a good time to cross an inlet?+
Look at three things together: the current (easiest near slack at high water or on the flood, hardest on a strong ebb), the wind (dangerous when it opposes the ebb), and the swell (worse when it is big or long-period). This tool shows all three per inlet, with the tide timing and a wind-against-ebb flag.
What is a bar and why is crossing one dangerous?+
A bar is a shoal of sand or gravel across an inlet or river mouth. As waves move from deep water onto the shallow bar they slow, stack up and can break. A strong ebb pouring out against those waves makes them steeper still, which is why bars can turn treacherous quickly even when it looks calm offshore.
Does this replace the Coast Guard bar report?+
No. Where the US Coast Guard reports and restricts a bar, that report is the authority and takes precedence over anything here. This tool helps you plan around the tide, wind and swell; it never tells you it is safe to cross.
