Seattle's lowest tides are coming: Here's where you can explore

Want to explore a world of bulbous purple sea stars, electric orange sea cucumbers, gossamer sea anemones and scuttling rock crabs?

Then pull on some boots and head to your local beach. It's tide-pooling time!

Some of the Puget Sound's lowest tides of the year are beckoning Seattle-area nature lovers this weekend and even lower tides are due next month.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting low tides of minus-3.82 feet Sunday and minus-4.04 feet Monday, following minus-3.07 feet Saturday.

These super-low tides expose extra rocky and sandy spaces to explore along Puget Sound beaches and reveal more sea critters to check out. And they're hitting their nadir around noon, meaning plenty of daylight for mucking around.

Saturday at Seattle's Carkeek Park, groups of kids and adults tiptoed across wet rocks, slick seaweed and leathery kelp as they scanned the beach.

Clams buried below the sand sent squirts of water into the air. Sea stars glistened in pungent pools. Sea cucumbers peeked between rocks.

Beach naturalists from the Seattle Aquarium are spending time in multiple spots to share tips. They'll be at Des Moines Beach in Des Moines, Golden Gardens in Ballard and Olympic Sculpture Park in Belltown on Sunday; then Lincoln Beach in West Seattle and Richmond Beach in Shoreline on Monday.

They'll be back at those beaches and at Burien's Seahurst Beach in mid-June and mid-July, with a full schedule available on the aquarium's website.

To protect any beach creatures you encounter, experts say you should tread carefully, touch gently (if at all) and leave no trace before heading home.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.