Digging for Sea Creatures at Low Tide in Birch Bay State Park, Washington

After we bolted out of fear from our campsite in the Northern Cascades, we made dozens of calls to find a campground with availability on short notice.

We found one, but we had to drive a couple hours farther than anticipated to Ferndale, Washington. Ferndale is in the northwest corner of Washington state, about twenty miles south of British Columbia. It is out there, and we weren’t sure what we might find in the area.

One cool morning, we decided to explore the shore about half an hour a way. We found Birch Bay State Park on the map, and by complete chance we arrived on the shore at low tide.

Back home, we have tides, but we don’t have tides as dramatic as those in Birch Bay.

The water drops significantly at low tide, and it exposes hundreds of yards of mud and rock and tide pools when it does.

We weren’t dressed or equipped for the activity, but we grabbed some cups and buckets from the car, happened to find a digging rake on the rocks, got some local advice from a passerby, and ventured into the mud and water to see what we could find.

We found big crabs, small crabs, hermit crabs, eels, flounder, clams, bald eagles, and strange sea cucumber looking things that squirted water at the kids. The kelp and seaweed lay flat on the ground, and you could see bulges where crabs and other creatures moved beneath the seaweed.

It was a lot of dirty fun, and we’re fortunate to have arrived on the shore when the tide had receded so greatly.

Here are some of our pictures from Birch Bay.