Low Tide Adventures
Apr 20, 2024
Beaches are awesome, and the lower the tide the more beach there is to enjoy.
Some beaches disappear almost completely at higher tides, like Clipper Cove beach on Yerba Buena Island or Mile Rock Beach at Land’s End, while others are only safely accessible on foot at lower tides like the beach between Avalon Canyon and Mussel Rock in Daly City or the northern end of Marshall’s beach leading up to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Tidal zones are rich with interesting plants, animals, geological formations, and man-made structures. Low tides expose things like tide pools between China Beach and Baker Beach and at their lowest can reveal hidden features like the Ashby Shoal or shipwrecks all around the Golden Gate Bridge.
Beaches are constantly changing due to tides, weather, and human activity. Winter storms wash away sand that is gradually redeposited over the summer before being washed away again. During winter 2024 Rosalita Beach was nothing but a rocky coastline but by the summer solstice it was a sandy beach again.
Reading Tide Charts
Most days have 2 high tides and 2 low tides of varying sizes. 0.0ft tide is the mean/average tide for that area over the past “tidal epoch” (19 years). If the tide is negative, that means that parts of the beach that are usually underwater will be exposed. If the tide is positive, that means that there will be less beach than usual, which is generally a bummer.
Tides operate on a cycle and their exact size and timing changes throughout the year, with the highest high tides and lowest low tides happening around the full moon. There are some weeks with low tides every afternoon, and some weeks when the tide never gets close to 0.0ft. Tide charts are just predictions, things like recent rainfall or heavy winds can impact how the waves behave. The sand on beaches tends to wash out during the winter and build back up during the summer, which means a 1ft tide in July will usually expose more beach than a 1ft tide in January. The amount of sand added or removed can vary from year to year as well.
The tidal cycle behaves roughly as follows:
- High tide: The time when the water will be the highest
- Slack tide: Some time after high or low tide, the currents calm down before the tidal direction flips and a flood or ebb tide begins
- Ebb tide: Heavy current going out which creates a low tide
- Low tide: The time when the water will be the lowest
- Slack tide: See above
- Flood tide: Heavy current coming in which creates a high tide
- High tide: cycle repeats
It’s important to plan your trip around the tides, as an area that is perfectly safe to explore at low tide might be extremely dangerous during the ebb tide when the water line is higher and the current is flowing away from the beach.
When exploring you should aim to arrive some time before low tide so that you have plenty of time to explore before the flood tide begins to raise the water level again. If you can safely pass through an area at 30 minutes before low tide, then it’s reasonable to assume it will still be safe 30 minutes after low tide, giving you at least 1 hour of time to explore. If you arrive too early, you can always wait on the beach until the tide recedes more. If you start your trip exactly at low tide or sometime after, then the water level will already be rising making it riskier to pass through any pinch points.
There are a number of tools that you can use to look up tide charts:
- The NOAA has a free service, but it is a little barebones
- I built a tool called Tide Finder which uses NOAA data to find low tides during daylight hours
- There are commercial websites like Tide Forecast or US Harbors that have nicer UI
- I also use an iPhone app called Tides Near Me, though it only shows 1 week of predictions
Researching Spots
Sadly there is no global index of cool low tide spots, but researching and exploring spots is all part of the fun.
Look for existing accounts
- Interesting low tide spots generally get written about, trying searching for
"CITY NAME" "low tide"or variations like that to find spots near you. - There’s a ton of people posting outdoor excursion videos to Youtube, Instagram, and Tik Tok.
- Sometimes the most secret spots are hidden in old books. For example, “Point Reyes : secret places and magic moments” by Phil Arnot describes a few secret beaches that aren’t really mentioned anywhere online
Scour the maps
- On Google Earth you might try checking around the outskirts of beaches to see if there are additional coves that could become accessible at low tide. Sometimes you can gauge from looking at satellite photos how shallow the water is or whether it might be possible to climb over a rocky outcropping.
- Google Maps has a feature called “photo spheres” which are little blue circles that appears sometimes when you go to use street view. These can be useful to gauge what a beach looks like, or if you see a photo sphere in an area you’re trying to explore that’s proof that at least one person has made it there. Some coast lines also have the coast line photographed by street view boats, like along the Berkeley shoreline.
- AllTrails will often show trails that are not on any other map, and can reveal options for hiking down to beaches. Reviews on AllTrails might also mention tidal access.
- In California, you can also check California Coastal photos https://www.californiacoastline.org/cgi-bin/imagerandom.cgi to get another view of the coast line
Look for tidal events
- The highest and lowest tides of the year happen during the King Tide, just about any coastline will be interesting to visit when this is going on
- Sunrise or sunset low tides, maybe a full moon night time low tide walk.
- Plan a camping trip around a tide. Haypress campground is near Tennessee beach, Bicentennial campground is near Black Sands Beach, Francis state beach campground is right on miles and miles of beach
Is it legal?
- In California almost everywhere below the mean high tide line is public land. These lines are rarely marked, but you can more or less use the high water mark in the sand as a guide.
- Despite this, some areas are still closed off. For example, the Diablo Canyon PG&E plant, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Richmond Chevron long pier area, etc.
- Some areas are ecologically sensitive and access is restricted for their protection.
Pick a target tide level
- Existing accounts might have already figured it out and listed some tips.
- If you can find a photo of a beach at a known date and time, you can look up what the tide was at that time and use that to guess how much of the beach will be accessible.
- More popular spots tend to be easier tide wise. Rarer spots that only have opportunities 1-2x a year rarely done and thus not written about as much.
- When in doubt, just aim for the lowest tide you can!
Figure out if there are any pinch points
- This is the biggest thing to plan around as you will need to time when you cross any pinch points with the low tide.
- On map/satellite look for areas where beach is blocked by rocks or etc.
- Aim to arrive at pinch points early to maximize your chance of getting across, especially if you have to cross multiple pinch points.
- Don’t spend time in areas where you could be trapped by the tide. Always know what your nearest exit routes when exploring beaches that are bound by cliffs.
Get to know the area beaches
- The best way to know if a beach will be accessible at a low tide is to visit it at whatever tide is convenient to you and see what waves are like. If at a 1ft tide a pinch point is just being touched by the waves, then there should be plenty of space to cross it at a -1ft tide.
- Exploring other beaches in the are will give you a sense of how sandy vs rocky the other beaches might be.
Gear/Tips
These tips mostly apply to longer trips along beaches:
- Sand is much tougher to walk on than trails. Assume you will have less range than usual.
- Depending on the beach or what you are exploring, you might either want to wear hiking shoes that are good for scrambling over rocks, or aquatic shoes for walking in the water.
- Weather conditions can quickly change from cold to hot, wear light layers.
- Have the tide chart saved or written down, as you might not have service on the beach.
- Bring an extra pair of socks for when you inevitably step in the surf or get caught by a wave.
- If it’s going to be a windy day, ski/snowboard goggles can be nice to keep the sand out of your eyes on longer trips.
- Trekking poles can make walking on the sand and balancing on rocks much easier.
- Gloves/trash bag to collect trash if you’re into that sort of thing.
- Binoculars for scoping stuff out.
Dangers
All outdoor activities involve risk and danger, wandering around remote beaches requires planning and care to be done safely.
- You can become trapped somewhere by the tide, and have to either wait for the next safe low tide (which could be anywhere from 6 hours to 3 months away depending on the date), dangerously scale a cliff, or call for help (assuming you have cell service). Always alot plenty of time to make it through pinch points or turn back if necessary. No matter how much time you have till the flood tide starts, do not stop for a break in the middle of 2 pinch points that could trap you.
- The ocean is unpredictable and a big sneaker wave can come along at any time. Always keep an eye on what the waves are doing when you are anywhere close to the shoreline.
- Tidal areas are filled with slippery unstable rocks, and getting a sprained ankle while you’re on a remote beach will be a miserable time. Move slowly and carefully, and always keep an eye out for easier paths along the beach.
- The wet compacted sand by the shore is generally easier to walk along, but when the tide comes in your only option might be the dry fluffy sand higher up on the beach. This could make your walk back much harder than expected.
- Areas above beaches are constantly eroding into the ocean. If you’re walking along a beach that is bound by large cliffs be cautious of landslides. Don’t take a break right at the base of a large rocky hill, and avoid exploring these issues during or right after a storm or wind event when landslides are more likely. If you see a bunch of loose rocks at the bottom of a cliff that’s a good sign that more could fall at any time
- Be careful what you pick up when beachcombing or collecting trash as it could be a jelly fish, sharp glass, fish hook, etc. Weird and sometimes dangerous stuff washes up on the beach.
- Particularly watch out for used needles. These often get mixed up among tiny bits of driftwood as they have a similar size/buoyancy.
- Be aware of marine preserves, sensitive habitats, etc. Give any wildlife plenty of distance. If an animal is changing it’s behavior because of your presence, you are too close. It’s a federal crime to disturb migratory birds or marine mammals.
- After a big storm, runoff from streets can wash a ton of garbage and gross stuff onto beaches. Some places like San Francisco have a combined sewer system which means that sewer water can overflow into the storm water and goes right out onto the beach. It’s best to avoid beaches immediately after a big storm (though the storms do also tend to kick up a lot of interesting beach combing treasures 🙁)
- Ebb tides. If you are exploring a beach at low tide you usually don’t have to worry too much about this because you will encounter the flood tide as the water starts coming in. However if you are on a longer trip or decide to explore a shoreline at high tide, be aware that the the current will start increasingly flowing out the ocean the longer you are on the beach.
Bay Area Trip Ideas
Here are a few examples of low tide excursions I have done. I plan to do longer write ups of each of these in the future. There are plenty more around the Bay!
All of these trips can be adapted to be of varying lengths and difficulty, make sure to do your own research before venturing out.
Half Moon Bay Beach
Miles and miles of beach from Miramar Beach in El Granada all the way to Manhattan beach below the Ritz Carlton golf course. There is also a parallel walking path up along the bluffs as well, making a loop or figure 8 route possible. The area north of Manhattan beach and south of Redondo Beach would need a low tide to pass through and is a pinch point area you should be cautious of. The rest of the beach should be accessible at any time. There is a campground at Francis State Beach that provides great access, and has hike-in-bike-in sites.
Lost Coast of Ocean Beach
While Ocean Beach can be extremely popular and busy, the beaches south of SF zoo has fewer accessible public access points making them practically empty except on the hottest of summer days. Between Thornton and Mussel Rock feels especially remote.
There are a ton of dog walkers from the nearby Daly City neighborhoods who trample down the cliff sides here daily with half a dozen off leash dogs racing ahead of them and I commend them for their bravery in scaling those sandy cliffs. If you are lucky you’ll get to see hang gliders soaring above the cliffs. If you are really lucky you’ll get buzzed by a pack of military helicopters heading down the coast!
Pinch points are between Mussel Rock and Avalon Canyon at the south end of the trail. Do not get trapped in this area or attempt to pass through it if the tide is sketchy. In order to get from the south end of the beach into Mussel Rock park, you need to scramble over a decent sized rock pile. There is another pinch point between the SF Zoo and Funston where there are a ton of boulders on the shoreline for anti-erosion purposes. You could scramble over the boulders if you really want to walk the full 8 miles from the cliff house to mussel rock on the beach, but I usually just exit at Funston and take the trail that goes along the closed section of the great high way to get back to the beach.
Albany Bulb
The Albany Bulb was a former landfill that is now a park of questionable jurisdiction. At some point it will inevitably become part of the McLaughlin Shoreline Park, but for now is an Albany city park filled with a network of social trails leading to interesting driftwood junk sculptures and works of art that random members of the public have built.
Starting from the beach/parking area, take the fire road along the shore. As you reach the bulb, there will be a path off to the left that follows the shoreline. This leads to the “yellow brick road”. Eventually you will reach the western lagoon, which is possible to loop around at lower tides. After the lagoon the beach continues to the north end of the bulb. Continuing on the trail continues to eastern lagoon. There are almost always a ton of birds chilling here so I usually stay on the trail and not the actual shoreline. At the end of the eastern lagoon there is a steep staircase back up. (I have not attempted to walk along the northern shoreline of the neck, but it seems possible to connect to the beach on the north western end of the burrowing owl meadow)
There is another beach directly to the south of Albany Bulb on the Bay Trail called Rosalita Beach which can be quite interesting at lower tides.
Marshalls Beach
Walk directly to the southern base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Take the Batteries-to-Bluffs trail from Lincoln Blvd down to Marshall’s beach, and then just keep heading north until you get to the bridge. There is a field of large and very interesting rocks separating the beach from the bridge which would be impassable or dangerous at higher tides. Keep an eye on how much space you have to walk through and what the tides are doing so you don’t get trapped or knocked over by a sneaker wave.
There are a ton of homeland security signs on the bridge structure itself. You could almost wave to the tourists at Fort Point from here. Baker beach just south of Marshall’s is popular with nude sunbathers. A little bit of everything here.
There is another low tide opportunity going from China beach north-east to Baker’s beach that is supposed to be pretty easy and family friendly but I have not done that trip yet. China Beach all the way to the bridge is on my list. There is also a very sketchy and dangerous exploration area to the west of China beach but I am told it requires a wet suit and climbing gear to explore safely and that sounds like a hassle. Look up “Sutro’s coal mine SF” for details.