Explore the world of tide pools with your kids! We love taking a trip to the beach and spending the day bringing the underwater world to life. From sea anemones to starfish, beautiful coral, hermit crabs, sea urchins, and more, tide pools have it all! Your kids will be able to see the mini-ecosystems of marine life that they have only been able to read about in books.
Fortunately, living in Southern California, we have a ton of beaches to choose from with year-round access! Plan a day to explore some of our "Macaroni Moms Approved" top tide pool beach picks.
1. Little Corona Del Mar Beach, Corona Del Mar
2. Crystal Cove, Laguna Beach
3. Thousand Steps Beach, Laguna Beach
4.Treasure Island Beach, Laguna Beach
5. Dana Point Harbor, Dana Point
6. Baby Beach, Dana Point
7. Leo Carrillo State Beach, on the outskirts of Malibu
8. White Point State Beach, San Pedro
9. Cabrillo National Monument, Point Loma
A couple of things to remember
- Bring water shoes. It can be rocky and slippery around the tide pools so be sure everyone has shoes with grips on them to be safe.
- Check the websites for when the tide is low, which is the best time to see the tide pools.
- Print out this fun tide pool scavenger hunt made by the Art and Wilderness Institute.
- Be careful when touching the marine life in the tide pool. Touching or moving the sea creatures could be harmful to them. Learn tide pool etiquette here from Crystal Cove State Park.
- Bring paper, crayons, and colored pencils. Have the kids draw pictures of what they see.
- Get ready to take some amazing pictures,
