Plan your paddle around the current.
NOAA currents and tides on a map, and a trip planner that times each leg against them, so you know when to cross and when to wait.
What it does
Currents on the map
Arrows at every NOAA current station show direction and speed for any time you pick. Tap a station for the day's chart, with max flood, max ebb and slack.
A trip planner that knows the water
Drop your launch, rest stops and camp. Set your paddling speed and Ebb & Flood works out each leg: how long it takes with the current, and how far to angle into it to hold your line. Press play to watch the currents change and your kayak move along the route.
Launch and camp sites
Boat launches, kayak put-ins, campsites, marine parks and beaches from Washington State Parks, Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources and OpenStreetMap. Tap one for what its source publishes, such as campsites, restrooms and mooring buoys, with a link to its own page. Add it to your trip as a launch, camp or rest stop in one tap.
Cascadia Marine Trail
Turn on Water trail in the Map menu to pick out the Cascadia Marine Trail's paddle-in campsites, with notices from the Washington Water Trails Association. Always check the latest with WWTA before you go.
An itinerary you can share
Every trip turns into a day-by-day plan: launch, rest stops, camp, layover and take-out, with times, distances, the current on each leg and the tide at each stop. Share it as a PDF or a text message, with a map link to every stop.
Works where there's no signal
Currents and tides are always on your phone. The map saves itself the first time you're on Wi-Fi, so it works on the water with no signal. Choose standard, plain or satellite maps, or lay NOAA's nautical chart over the top.
Starting in Washington waters
Washington's tidal waters have some of the strongest currents paddlers plan around. Oregon and Canadian stations on shared water are included. More states: coming later.
- San Juan Islandsat launch
- Puget Sound & Hood Canalat launch
- Strait of Juan de Fucaat launch
- Outer coastat launch
- Columbia Riverat launch
- More statescoming later
How accurate is Ebb & Flood?
In Washington waters, 133 of 191 current stations show NOAA's own prediction, unchanged. At the other 58, Ebb & Flood estimates speeds between NOAA's slack and max times. When we tested this method against NOAA's full predictions, 97.3% of estimates were within 0.3 kn. See how we tested it.
Predictions, not observations. Currents and tides come from NOAA predictions, with estimates where NOAA publishes less. They don't include wind, river runoff or air pressure, which can change real conditions a lot. Ebb & Flood is for planning, not navigation.