However, if an animal is tightly clinging to a rock, do not attempt to remove or pull it off as you may injure the organism. If, despite the advisory above against disturbing tidepool organisms, you choose to handle an organism for closer examination, put it back in the exact location and position that it was found. If you turn a rock over to inspect the creatures living below it, replace the rock exactly as you found it. Be respectful of how these organisms live. Marine animals such as the brightly colored bat star may appear dead, while often they are merely awaiting the incoming high tide to become active. If you can't hide an animal, such as a seal or sea lion, behind your thumb, you are too close. Stand and walk only on bare rock or sand, not on the marine life such as mussels, barnacles, and seaweed.

Please do not remove or disturb any of the organisms in a tidepool. Follow Leave No Trace's Tips for Tide Pooling: Take only pictures leave only footprints. Take along an extra pair of socks and shoes in case your feet do get wet. Wear warm clothing and comfortable shoes that can get wet and still give good traction. Remember that the wind is often strong at Point Reyes National Seashore, and the water is cold. Visit our Beach Safety page for more tips and information. Return no later than an hour after the tide has begun to rise. Be at the tidepool area at least an hour before low tide so that you have plenty of time to explore safely while the water is receding. Note that not all low tides are minus tides and some low tides are not low enough for successful tidepooling. The best time to go tidepooling is during a minus low tide. Be sure to make the necessary time and height corrections for Point Reyes. Tide tables are also available at visitor centers. You can find the times of the tides on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Tides and Currents page. Try and spot lined shore crabs in rock crevices or by turning over rocks. Rock weed (a type of brown algae) is easily identified by pairs of air pockets located on either side of the main vein running through the kelp. Take an extra look to see if the shell is indeed inhabited by a snail, or if a hermit crab has moved in. Look for its black color spiraling up to an iridescent center.

The black turban snail is another spiral shelled snail. Look for a spiral pattern in its shell similar to that which you find on its land dwelling relative, the garden snail, often seen roaming in your home garden. Periwinkle is a species found worldwide in the intertidal zone. Eroded periwinkle, small-shelled snails, and black turban snails are species of gastropods (snails) found in the high intertidal zone. They live among acorn barnacles which are white, volcano-shaped shelled arthropods found glued to rocks. Here, look for small, round, one-piece shelled mollusks called ribbed limpets. It is covered with water only once or twice a day during high tides. The high intertidal zone is the area closest to the beach. Observe how the different algae and kelp species change to help distinguish between tidal zones. Many of the plants in the intertidal zone are algae. These animals use their ability to adapt to their changing environment to escape predators. The animals that survive in this sometimes wet and sometimes dry habitat are mostly invertebrates. Its inhabitants are exposed alternatingly to immersion in salt water and exposure to air. In the intertidal zone the ocean rises and retreats twice each day. Time your exploration for the hour before and after low tide to maximize your tidepooling experience. The intertidal zone exists halfway between land and sea on the rocky shelf where waves break and splash against rocky outcroppings. Many creatures living here resemble those who lived thousands of years ago. This is a realm inhabited by magnificent creatures that look as if they came from another time and world. Only when waters recede at a low tide does the intertidal zone reveal its majesty to the careful explorer. Tidepoolers at Duxburry Reef in Agate Beach County Park.

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