Summer is coming to Seattle, which means many of us will be flocking to lakes, rivers, and the ocean to beat the heat! While a day of swimming and sand castles is fun, going off the beaten path at our local parks can lead to amazing adventures.
This time last year, I had friends visiting from my home state of Minnesota and we decided to spend an afternoon at the beach at Golden Gardens. As it was one of the first sunny weekends of the year, the beach was PACKED. We decided to walk along the shore, when we stumbled upon a small crowd of people almost all dressed in blue shirts combing the beach. We came to learn that they were Beach Naturalist volunteers from the Seattle Aquarium who not only had a wealth of knowledge to share about the creatures we found as we wandered, but also were adept at finding things more hidden.
As someone who spent the majority of their life in the middle of the continent, interacting with all the sea animals I had only seen in photos and nature documentaries was pretty special! Starfish, anemones, crabs, seals, and waterfowl were only a fraction of the critters one can find on Seattle beaches during low tide.
If you are looking for a way to beat the heat, avoid huge crowds, and learn a bit about the nature that surrounds us here in the city, just check the tide charts and look for the blue shirts. I can’t recommend this experience enough, and I can’t wait to get back out to the beach myself! Tide charts are linked below:
