Sep 10
Beachcombing is one of the simplest ways to explore the coast. You do not need expensive equipment, special training, or even particularly good weather. You simply walk the shoreline and pay attention to what the ocean has left behind. Seashells may be the obvious treasures, but they are only the beginning. Depending on the beach, …
Sep 09
Finding a beautiful seashell can turn an ordinary beach walk into a treasure hunt. But anyone who has searched for shells knows how unpredictable it can be. One morning the shoreline may be scattered with scallops, whelks, cockles, and tiny colorful shells. The next day, the same stretch of beach may appear almost empty. The …
Sep 08
Beachcombing can be enjoyable almost any time you visit the coast, but some conditions give you a much better chance of finding interesting things. The best time to go beachcombing is usually around low tide, particularly while the tide is still falling. Early morning can be especially productive because fewer people have searched the beach …
Sep 07
Finding a piece of sea glass feels different from finding an ordinary shell. At first it may look like nothing more than a tiny flash of green or white among the pebbles. Pick it up, however, and you may discover a piece of glass with rounded edges and a soft, frosted surface—the result of years …
Sep 06
A smooth piece of green, blue, amber, or frosted white glass on the beach can look almost natural. Its edges may be completely rounded. Its once-shiny surface may have become soft and cloudy. Mixed among pebbles and shells, it can look as though the ocean created it. But sea glass does not actually begin in …
Sep 05
A smooth, frosted piece of blue or green glass can look exactly like the kind of treasure you hope to find on a beach. But is it genuine sea glass? Or was an ordinary piece of glass placed in a rock tumbler for a few days to imitate the appearance of something shaped naturally by …
Sep 04
A seashell, smooth rock, piece of driftwood, or colorful fragment of sea glass may seem like the perfect free souvenir from a day at the beach. But can you legally take it home? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. There is no single rule covering every beach in the United States. What you may collect depends on …
Sep 03
Seashells are some of the easiest beach treasures to bring home, but they rarely look quite as beautiful after they have dried. Sand may cling inside the opening. Bits of seaweed or organic material can create an unpleasant smell. White mineral deposits can dull the surface, and shells that looked bright and colorful at the …
Sep 02
Finding a beautiful seashell is easy. Figuring out what kind of shell you found can be much harder. A single beach may contain dozens of different shapes: fan-shaped scallops, rounded cockles, tiny colorful coquinas, long spiral augers, smooth olives, heavy whelks, and fragments that seem impossible to identify at all. Fortunately, you do not need …
Aug 31
For some beachgoers, the perfect vacation souvenir is not something bought in a gift shop. It is a lightning whelk discovered at low tide, a tiny purple coquina shell spotted among thousands of fragments, or a perfectly intact scallop washed onto the beach overnight. Shell hunting—or shelling—is one of the simplest forms of beachcombing, but …
