All the way up and down the Oregon Coast, there are countless tide pools, but these are some of the most accessible or more healthy tide. Its a fun and free activity that can easily fill a couple of hours. The best description of this 7.7 mile round-trip hike is found in Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula by Craig Romano. Kids of all ages and adults alive find great fascination in discovering ocean critters in tide pools. Follow the fairly well signed trail to the beach, then turn right on the beach to Thompson Spit, known for birding and flowers. Print a map in advance, or take a photo of the map in the parking lot. Turn right at Diamond Point Road and travel 1.2 miles then turn left to the parking area. Traveling north from PT, the park is located off highway 101. Just south of the Lighthouse at Alki Point, this stretch of shoreline makes some of the best tide pools in the city. While Alki may be the popular beach in West Seattle, Constellation Park is where all the cool kids hang out to look for sea anemones, marine worms and more. The state’s newest park has a trail leading to a deserted beach on a shoreline facing Protection Island. Constellation Park Alki Beach - West Seattle. Marcia Schwendiman: Miller Peninsula State Park and Thompson Spit If you don’t already have a PNW marine life field guide, an excellent resource is available for purchase here: And there’s more sea-related animals and plants to be found surrounding tide pools, such as marine mammals, shore plants, and shore birds. Things you might find are sponges, anemones and jellies, worms, mollusks, sea slugs, bivalves, crustaceans including crabs, echinoderms, cephalopods, seaweeds, and seagrasses. Kinzie Beach is one of my favorite places for tidal explorations. Lee Merrill: Kinzie Beach at Fort Worden State Park This walk allows plenty of room for safe distancing and a relaxed walk. Observe what you see, the identifying characteristics that you see, the descriptions of the animals and their colors. Opportunities to see seals, shells, sea stars and many interesting sights will unfold for you. My low tide recommendation is to go to East Beach on Marrowstone and walk as long as you like along the shore. Be sure to return to the park before the tide starts coming in or you will not be able to cross back under the Bridge! If the tide is a minus 2 or lower, one can hike south, passing under the Hood Canal Bridge and then stroll along a usually deserted beach littered with glacial erratics, fine habitat for intertidal creatures. To the north, a two-mile round-trip leads to views of a backwater lagoon and ends with a feature called a tombolo which connects the mainland to Hood Head. The park entrance is signed and parking is plentiful at the park’s entrance on the shore of Bywater Bay. This is a fine place to beachcomb, dig clams and oysters (with a permit), launch a kayak, and look for migratory birds. Turn north at the junction with Paradise Bay RD then immediately east at the park. Shine Tidelands is located at the west end of the Hood Canal Bridge on Highway 104. Marcia Schwendiman: Shine Tidelands State Park
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