Low Tide Club

Ground rules

Tidepool etiquette

Thousands of people visit these reefs every winter. The pools stay alive only if each of those visits is gentle. Here is how to be one of the good ones.

Seven rules for the rocky shore

  1. Step on bare rock and sand

    Every patch of green, brown, or crusty rock is alive. Choose bare rock or sand for each step, even if it takes longer.

  2. Touch with one wet finger, or not at all

    Dry hands and sunscreen strip away protective mucus. If you touch anything, use one wet fingertip, gently, and never on soft animals like sea hares or nudibranchs.

  3. Leave animals attached

    Sea stars, limpets, anemones, and snails hold on for a reason. Pulling them off can tear tissue or leave them unable to reattach.

  4. Put rocks back the way you found them

    The underside of a rock is a whole neighborhood. If you lift one, set it back down gently in the same spot, same side up.

  5. Take nothing home

    Not shells, not rocks, not animals. In Marine Protected Areas collecting is illegal, and empty shells are future homes for hermit crabs.

  6. Keep voices low and groups small

    Birds roost and feed on the reef too. Quiet visitors also see more -- crabs and fish come back out when nobody is stomping around.

  7. Watch the water, not just the pools

    Keep the ocean in front of you. Leave before the tide turns, and stay off rocks that are being freshly splashed.

About Marine Protected Areas

California manages a network of Marine Protected Areas along the coast, and several cover the Orange County shoreline. Rules vary by area, but inside most of them you may not take or disturb marine life, and in many you may not remove anything at all.

Look for posted signs at beach access points, and check the California Department of Fish and Wildlife MPA pages for the rules at a specific location.