5/25/2023 0 Comments Puget sound tidal pools![]() I love Titlow because of the views of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and a fun short hike you can do to Hidden Beach. Owen Beach at Point Defiance is sandy and doesn’t have rocks at all close up. While we don’t have sandy beaches in Tacoma for the most part, we also don’t have beaches that are good for tide pools.Ĭhambers Bay Park’s beach which is close to our house is rocky, but they are small rocks. I wonder what the teacher did with the creatures at the end of the year? A Great Blue Heron flies over the Puget Sound with the Narrows Bridge in the background.Īnyway, ever since we moved to Tacoma I’ve been wanting to go to the tide pools to see what I could find. ![]() The class would then spend the semester keeping the salt water levels viable for the creatures and getting hands on learning. We collected all kinds of creatures: crabs, starfish, clams and one kid even got lucky and scored an octopus. Titlow Beach features some cool tide pools inside of old pier postsI’m guessing this is looked on a little different these days, but back in the mid-90s we didn’t care about the environment or something. Cat enjoyed playing in the tide pools more than looking for critters. For a brief three months I thought I was going to be a marine biologist, but those problems with science ended that idea.Īnyway, the thing I remember the most about those classes all these years later was early in the semester we would take a field trip to Seattle to the ocean at low tide to collect specimens to keep in tanks in the classroom. I would never say that science was a strong point, as I was happy to just get a passing grade in those classes.īut in junior high I voluntarily took marine biology twice as an elective. The best description of this 7.7 mile round-trip hike is found in Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula by Craig Romano.One of my favorite classes in junior high might surprise folks if they know me well. 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. The state’s newest park has a trail leading to a deserted beach on a shoreline facing Protection Island. 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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