Vacationers can discover a large number of interesting creatures including limpets, tiny crabs, sea anemones, starfish, urchins, sea cucumbers, mussels, barnacles, and chitons that somehow survive in tide pools.
Tidepools are areas along the coast that trap saltwater into shallow pools along the intertidal zone – the zones between the high and low water tides. Tidepooling is discovering the fascinating aquatic life living in those pools.
The best time to go is during low tide – the lower the better. There are a few minus tides during the year. There are usually several in the late spring during very early times in the morning. These repeat again in the fall but are typically at night. They are called minus tides because low tide is exceptionally low. There are several websites that display tide tables. One of them is Saltwater Tides.
Gold Beach – Port Orford Tide Pools
Spots include Rocky Point, Sisters Rocks, and north and south of Otter Point.
Brookings – Harbor Tidal Pools
Harris Beach State Park and Lone Ranch, both located just north of Brookings, are great places to visit and start tide pooling.
Bandon Tidal Pools
Coquille Point off of Kronenberg County Park is a prime location. A bit further south is Face Rock.