![]() Don’t trespass onto bordering private land. Pay attention to signs at the beach when you arrive. Are dogs allowed? Will you be allowed to collect shells or rocks and take them home? Can you bring a barbecue? If you’re going to a state park you’ll need a Discover Pass to park. Before you head out to a certain beach, you need to know the rules. Therefore, they have stricter rules than other beaches. Many urban beaches have been protected as marine sanctuaries. The Breazeale Interpretive Center at Padilla Bay also has walks and classes for toddlers through adults. Up north, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center has some walks scheduled near their facility. The South Sound Estuary Association has many programs on beaches in the south end, as does Tacoma Nature Center and Point Defiance. You’ll learn a lot by following along with a ranger or trained volunteer - and their calendar is also a easy guide to low-tide days! You can find programs in Edmonds. Seattle-area beaches are staffed by volunteers from the Seattle Aquarium Beach Naturalist program see here for their schedule and locations. Many beaches have naturalist programs during low-tide events or on weekends in the summer. Find a beach naturalist (and a great beach) The best beach walking is an hour before and after the lowest time (that time extends longer for the lowest tides). Search and click on your location make sure you look specifically for the area you plan to go, as the times of the lowest lows change depending on location. You can view the tides graphically or in chart format. Or you can go online the site I use most often is ProTides. You can pick up a paper tide guide for your area for the whole year. There are several ways you can find out the low tides. Minus 2s or 3s are when you can find the coolest critters. About the lowest we get in Edmonds is -4.0, but that doesn’t happen every year. The best tides for beach walking are minus tides, where the measurement is below 0. ![]() One set of lows is lower than the other set. The tides shift by about 20-30 minutes each day. In Puget Sound, we have two low and two high tides every day. Know your minus tidesįirst off, you need to find when the low tides are for your area. Though we live in Puget Sound, these tips are relevant almost anywhere! 1. So I’m passing on to you what I’ve learned over the years about beachcombing planning and etiquette. This coincides with warming weather and winter-weary residents, and it seems that everyone flocks to the beaches.īefore I worked in Edmonds as a park ranger I didn’t know much about when and where to go, and I didn’t know anything about the rules I needed to follow. Every two weeks, the cycle of the moon creates several days of very low tides during the midday hours. Spring and summer are prime beach walking times in Puget Sound. (Editor’s note: Also check the ParentMap calendar for upcoming low-tide walks throughout the Sound.)
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