Walk the flats.

Today on the flats

The next seven days

How to read this

The walkable window runs from about ninety minutes before low water to ninety minutes after it. That is a deliberately conservative cut of the roughly six-hour fall and rise, because the last of the ebb and the first of the flood move slowly, and the middle hours move fast. How far out the sand goes depends on the height of the low. A minus tide, below the zero line on the chart, is the full show: bars, channels, and acres of ribbed sand. A low around a foot is still a fine walk. Much above two feet and you are mostly looking at wet ankles near shore.

Each day shows its best daylight low. Some of the deepest lows of the month land before dawn or after dark; the chart notes when that happens, and headlamp trips are between you and your judgment.

Rules of the sand

Three things locals will tell you, in order of importance. First, the tide comes back faster than it went out, and it fills the low channels behind you before it covers the bar you are standing on. Keep track of the time and start walking in when the window closes, not when the water reaches you. Second, parts of the bay bottom are soft; if the sand starts taking your foot past the ankle, pick a different line. Third, the shellfish beds are real and regulated. Look all you want, but digging or taking anything requires a town shellfish permit, and some areas are leased grants or closed beds. The permit guide covers where licenses come from.