Tide pools & best beach & time for seashells?

[imjen]

My sis & my kids would love to see some tide pools while we are in the Anaheim area. Any recommendations on where we can go? Also, where's the best place & time to get some decent sea shells. My kids would love to find some (they're 6 & 3.5 so it doesn't have to be that great LOL). I've been to the beach before but usually just find super tiny & broken shells. Is there a certain time around the tides that's best to go? Any beach around the Anaheim/Huntington Beach area would be good since we will be visiting my grandparents in Huntington Beach one of the days. We will be there mid-April if that matters. TIA!!!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

There are some great tidepools in the San Pedro area at Whites Point. You do have to pay to park down there, though.

I haven't been there for awhile, so I do not know how the shell collecting is in that area.

 

[imjen]

Thanks, Mary Jo. Do you know about how long it takes to get there from Anaheim or Huntington Beach?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

You would take the 405 north to the 110 south towards San Pedro, and then keep on the side streets to the ocean. I'd say it would take about a half hour to get there.

Once you're there, you can also visit the Friendship Bell, given to us by Korea in 1976 (I believe that's the year), Point Fermin (nice park up there & they handglide). There is a lighthouse there. They also have a great view of Long Beach, including the Queen Mary.

If you continue along that drive, on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific, & you're lucky, you'll be able to see Santa Catalina Island (26 miles across the sea). You'll also go over Portuguese Bend (which is always slightly shifting), where Pirates used to hang out, pass the Wayfarer's Chapel - & I recommend a stop here - it's a beautiful spot, and head on down and around the Palos Verdes Hill. You'll also pass by Point Vicente & another lighthouse w/a little gift shop. It's a great spot for whale watching. If you're really observant you'll see three curved poles sticking up out of the ground. Those simulate the whale blowing out water, and marks the old entrance to Marineland. Continue down, and along the shore until you get to Redondo Beach Pier. There is a restaurant there called Tony's, which offers a beautiful view of the shoreline and sea. If you time it right, eat during sunset - it's beautiful. Leaving the Redondo Beach Pier you'll be on Torrance Blvd. Follow it to the 110 freeway & go north, catching the 405 south again to Huntington Beach.

 

[almostGoofy]

I know there are tide pools going south; Dana Point I believe. Perhaps someone else will have more information on that one.

What I do want to caution you about is that if it rains, avoid the tide pools and the ocean for about a week after a good rain. Run-off from other parts of the county enter the ocean and the bacteria level goes up. You might even avoid the tide pools for a little longer. Because of the lack of waves or movement of water at children's beaches and tide pools, the bacteria levels will remain high for a longer period of time than out in the costal ocean waters.