Quote:
Originally Posted by kien
I like rocky tide pools! Thanks! What's the best time of the day to check these out ?
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In Howe sound you get fewer pools but more rocky cliffs with life. At Whytecliff there is a land bridge that connects the shore to the island just off the beach at low tide. There are certainly pools in there to check out and once you are on the island there some other pools to check out near the outmost tip. At low tide all the cliff walls are exposed so you get to see a TON of starfish and sunstars (which can be over a meter across!). There are lots of areas to explore there so you'll be surprised what you'll find. I've found brooding and painted anemones right at the water's edge and you'll usually get visits from the friendly neighbourhood seals. Whytecliffe is a marine reserve so the density of life is pretty high.
Lighthouse park is a really cool park to go explore - in my opinion it's Vancouver's most beautiful park and I'm sure many will agree. There are rocks down by the water that the kids can go scramble around on and, if you head toward the lighthouse there are small beach areas. At low tide there are some pools and walls that are exposed.
Ansel point is a small area but I've always found the best life there. Park at the bottom of Ansel Place and walk down the wood stairs to the water. At low tide there is a granite shelf that is exposed where you see diver's suit up. There are pools there that can have some pretty neat stuff depending on how the weather has been (it's been pretty dry and sunbaked here for a while without too many windy/wavy days, so the pools might be a bit barren right now). You can sit at the edge of the granite shelf and watch the life on the wall (it's a 500ft vertical cliff straight down under water). It's not uncommon to see 6ft lingcod, sculpins and octopus scuttling along the wall. Sometimes you can get visits from the pair of wolf eels who live on the wall (they like to snuggle with people - weird, yes, but very cool).
Kelvin Grove is a beach area in Lion's Bay. Great beach for playing and swimming. No cliffs like the other locations (except for one at the far end of the beach which is greatfor cliff diving). There are some pools and walls that are exposed at low tide. Snorkeling is great there. I always see crabs, jelly fish, painted greenlings and anemones there. Since it's end of summer, all the prawns are coming to the shallows to mate and they like to congregate in Kelvin Grove. Sometimes you can see them quite shallow when snorkeling, sometimes coming right up to the shore for food.
The water isn't that cold (it is if you're a sissy
), you can easily wade around and swim.
The mud flat areas are huge areas to explore but diversity tends to be low. The areas I described are the more typical BC rocky shoreline that has really cool sealife.
We also have Locarno Beach out in Kitsilano where the tide goes out 1 km at low tide. Great for kids to go play. Not a ton of sea life to find but I go come across stuff from time to time.