Fogarty Creek State Park, Oregon

When: August 2009
Where: Fogarty Creek State Park, along Highway 101 just north of Depoe Bay, Oregon.
Why: To explore tidepools at low tide.
How much: Free.
How long: 1-2 hours for tidepools.

We arrived shortly after 7 am, for a low tide somewhere around 7:30 or 8 am. We were the first ones there. There are 2 parking lots, north and south. Either one works, then you cross the footbridge, go under the highway and you're at the beach. There are picnic tables and restrooms by the parking lots.

There is a stretch of sand, then rocks to both sides. We went to the right and found a great bunch of tidepools.

The rocks were covered with seaweed and were a bit slippery, but the tide was far out and didn't make me nervous at all (it was -0.3 or so). We saw lots of sea stars, sea anenomes, mussels, limpets, and a few crabs and seagulls. And a heron:

This was a nice beach, would be great to just come play in the sand as well. Wear a jacket and sturdy shoes--expect to get your feet wet in the tidepools and rocks. Bring a guidebook for the tidepools if you want. You can touch the sea creatures but you're not supposed to remove them.