Hit the beach!

Before you go to the beach, there are a few things you should know: what animals to look for, when the best tide is, and where to go.

How to find beach critters
The beach is home to a lot of really interesting critters. It's really easy for us to hurt these animals without even realizing that were doing it. Here are some tips for visiting the beach without hurting anybody.

• Watch where you step! If you're rushing across the beach you're likely to miss seeing sea stars and anemones that can't get out of your way. Slow down, and watch where you step. You'll see more that way!
• Leave your buckets and shovels at home, unless you're building a sand castle. Animals on the beach need to stay right where you found them, not get carried around in a bucket. And digging on the beach disturbs the habitat the animals need. Bring a magnifying glass instead, to take a closer look.
• Use wet hands to touch animals you find. A lot of beach creatures have a layer of slime to protect them from the sun and air. Touching them with dry hands can remove the slime, so be sure your hands are wet before you touch them gently.
• If you turn over a rock, put it back carefully. Lots of animals hide under rocks at low tide, so flipping a rock is a good way to find some. But please be sure you put the rock back exactly as you found it, so the critters underneath don't dry out or get stepped on. To avoid squashing your fingers when you put the rock back, only turn over rocks that are about the same size as your head. They are usually small enough to be handled easily, but big enough to hide some of the animals you're looking for.

For more information about what you might find on or near the beach, check out our online Beach Guide, visit the Department of Ecology's Tide Pool site, or stop by Northwest Marine Life.

When the best tides are
Next, you'll want to be sure to visit the beach at a good low tide, because that's when you'll see the most variety of animals. Different animals live in different tidal zones.

Puget Sound has two high tides and two low tides each day. You can get information about tide times here, by choosing a nearby location from the list and clicking on it to get the current tide table.

To read the tide table, look at the hills and valleys on the chart. The tops of the hills are high tides, and the bottoms of the valleys will show you when the lowest tides will be. The numbers on the left side of the chart tell you how high or low the tide will be. The lower the tide, the more you will be likely to see when you visit the beach.

So, why isn't the beach always visible? What makes the tides happen?

More strange stuff about tides.

Where to go
Here are a bunch of places where anyone can visit the shores of Puget Sound. Where possible, we've included a link with more information about the location. Find your county in the list below, then check to see which beach is nearest you. This isn't a complete list, so if you know of another great public saltwater beach let us know, and we'll add it!

Clallam County
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
Dungeness Recreation Area
Salt Creek Recreation Area
Sequim Bay State Park
Port Williams Park
Pillar Point County Park
Freshwater Bay Park
Clallam Bay Spit
Cline Spit
Panorama Vista County Park

Island County
Map of Island County Parks (note: not all have beach access)
Deception Pass State Park _South Whidbey State Park
Fort Ebey State Park

Jefferson County
Fort Worden State Park
Fort Flagler State Park
Old Fort Townsend State Park
Mystery Bay State Park
Dosewallips State Park
Adams Street Park
Chetzemoka Park
Elmira Street Park
Pope Marine Park
Kah Tai Lagoon
North Beach Park
Rotary Park
Union Wharf
 
King County
Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint
Alki Beach Park
Me Kwa Mooks Park
Lincoln Park
Weatherwatch Park
Carkeek Park
Discovery Park
Herring's House Park W Marginal Way SW and SW Alaska Street, Seattle (note: this is also a People For Puget Sound restoration site!)
Golden Gardens Park
Lowman Beach Park
Cormorant Cove
Andover Place
Olympic Sculpture Park
Seahurst Park
Eagle Landing Park
Dash Point State Park
Saltwater State Park
Richmond Beach Saltwater Park
Maury Island Marine Park
Point Robinson Park
Dockton Park

Kitsap County
Fay Bainbridge State Park
Fort Ward State Park
Arness Roadside Park
Manchester State Park
Scenic Beach State Park
Evergreen Park
Lent Landing Park
Lions Park
NAD Marine Park
Illahee State Park
Nick's Lagoon
Silverdale Waterfront Park
Point No Point Lighthouse and Park
Salsbury Point County Park
Liberty Bay Park
Oyster Plant Park
Anderson Point County Park

Mason County
Latimer's Landing Boat Launch
Shorecrest (Jacoby) County Park
Walker Park
Potlatch State Park
Triton State Park
Twanoh State Park
Belfair State Park
Jarrell Cove State Park
 
Pierce County
Point Defiance Park (Owen Beach)
Titlow Beach
Narrows Park
Sunrise Beach
Purdy Sand Spit
Penrose Point State Park
Joemma Point State Park
Herron Point County Park
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

San Juan County
San Juan Island National Historical Park
San Juan County Park
Rueben Tarte Memorial Park
Eastsound Waterfront Park
Odlin Park
Agate Beach County Park
South Beach Park
Spencer Spit State Park

Skagit County
Deception Pass Park
Bay View State Park
Padilla Bay Reserve
Washington Park
Kiwanis Waterfront Park
Cap Sante Park

Snohomish County
Kayak Point County Park
Jetty Island (summer only)
Howarth Park
Spencer Island
10th Street Marina Park
Brackett's Landing
Edmonds Underwater Park

Thurston County
Priest Point Park
Frye Cove Park
Burfoot County Park
Tolmie State Park
Nisqually Nature Center

Whatcom County
Larrabee State Park
Birch Bay State Park
Zuanich Point Park
Maritime Heritage Park
Boulevard Park
Fairhaven Marine Park

Department of Ecology Shoreline access page lists additional sites.