Explore Summer Tide Pools

Written By NANCY BLAKEY

There is a window of time in spring and summer when the sea pulls back on a minus tide to reveal an intertidal zone filled with dazzling marine plants and animals. The tide pools of the Salish Sea and the Oregon coast are some of the most diverse and rich intertidal habitats on earth, and they are yours to explore on a low tide. You don’t need special equipment or knowledge; however, a good illustrated guide, like Fylling’s Illustrated Guide to Pacific Tide Pools by Marni Fylling, will enrich your experience and enable you to identify all the sea flora and fauna you encounter. Is that a blob of goo or a brooding anemone? Another bonus of the minus tide is the sudden access to rocks and caves that are covered by water during the day for most of the year: more to explore, more to discover, a secret world at your wet feet. 

 

Tips and Tricks 

  • Bring a magnifying glass to examine the marine life closely.

  • Wear shoes with good traction; the rocks can be slippery.

  • Although many tide pools are exposed on a normal low tide, target the lowest tides for the most diversity of marine life. 

  • Watch your step! Walk only on sand whenever possible to avoid damaging these fragile ecosystems. 

  • Tides vary up and down the coast. On a site-specific tide table earmark a tide that is 0 feet or lower for the beach you want to visit.

  • Touch the marine life gently, preferably with one wet finger.

  • Replace any rock you lift exactly the way it was.

  • Do not bring shells or animals home.

  • Bring a bag with you to pick up any trash or litter you find, and haul it out.

 

Best Beaches for Tide Pools 

Most beaches reveal interesting marine life at low tide. You can make it easy, go local, and check out a shore near you, or pack a picnic, jump in the car, and drive to one of the beaches listed below for an up-close and personal encounter with the briny treasures of the Pacific Northwest. Keep in mind all Washington state parks require a Discover Pass. In Oregon, buy a state park day-use parking permit.

 

British Columbia 

  • VANCOUVER:LighthousePark,SpanishBanks,ThirdBeach,KitsilanoBeach

  • TOFINO: Chesterman Beach, MacKenzie Beach, Lismer Beach

  • PORT RENFREW: Botanical Beach

  • VICTORIA: Cattle Point Urban Star Park

  • WHITE ROCK: White Rock Beach

 

Washington 

  • SAN JUAN ISLAND: Grandmas Cove, Cattle Point Natural Resources Conservation Area, Lime Kiln Point State Park

  • ORCAS ISLAND: Obstruction Pass State Park

  • BELLINGHAM: Larrabee State Park

  • WHIDBEY ISLAND: Double Bluff State Park, Deception Pass State Park

  • SHORELINE: Richmond Beach Saltwater Park

  • SEATTLE: Golden Gardens Park, Discovery Park (north end of the beach), Constellation Park, Lincoln Park 

  • VASHON ISLAND: Point Robinson Park

  • DES MOINES: Saltwater State Park

  • BURIEN: Seahurst Park

  • TACOMA: Titlow Park, Owen Beach at Point Defiance Park

  • PORT ANGELES: Salt Creek Recreation Area

  • OLYMPIC PENINSULA: Rialto Beach (Hole-in-the-Wall), Shi Shi Beach, La Push beaches, Ruby Beach, Kalaloch Beach 

Oregon

  • CANNON BEACH: Haystack Rock, Arcadia Beach State Recreation Site 

  • PACIFIC CITY: Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area

  • NEWPORT: Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (Quarry Cove, Cobble Beach)

  • MANZANITA: Short Sands Beach at Oswald West State Park 

  • SEAL ROCK: Seal Rock State Recreation Site 

  • YACHATS: 804 Trail, Basalt Gateway, Spouting Horn, and the town beaches (there are tide pools everywhere in Yachats!) 

NANCY BLAKEY
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