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Sunset Bay State Park

Coos County, Oregon · United States

What have people found?

Gumboot chiton, mossy chiton and pacific purple sea urchin turn up here more than at our other rock pools. Giant green anemone, aggregating anemone and purple shore crab are the usual finds. ~159 distinct species have been recorded here, across at least 5 years of observations.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at Sunset Bay State Park for the next three days
  1. Sun 15 Nov9:221.3 min the dark22:140.3 m
  2. Mon 16 Nov10:321.3 min the dark23:050.4 m
  3. Tue 17 Nov11:511.2 min the dark23:580.5 m

Every low tide each day, in local time at the shore.

Plan the week in Intertidal
  • A tide chart for every day, with the best window marked
  • Identify what you find from a photo
  • An alert when a good daylight low is coming

When do people visit?

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Most observations come from May and July.

What should you know before visiting?

Parking is about 600 meters away.
Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before low tide and leave as it turns. The water comes back faster than it left.
Grippy shoes beat sandals. Wet rock and algae are more slippery than they look. Rock pool safety
A rock pool is a fragile place. Look and photograph, take nothing. The rockpooling code

What lives at Sunset Bay State Park?

Species records from iNaturalist

Giant Green AnemoneAnthopleura xanthogrammica
Aggregating AnemoneAnthopleura elegantissima
Purple Shore CrabHemigrapsus nudus
RockweedFucus distichus
Black TegulaTegula funebralis
Ochre Sea StarPisaster ochraceus
Mossy ChitonMopalia muscosa
Striped Shore CrabPachygrapsus crassipes
Gumboot ChitonCryptochiton stelleri
Pacific Purple Sea UrchinStrongylocentrotus purpuratus
Pacific Hairy Hermit CrabPagurus hirsutiusculus
By-the-wind SailorVelella velella
Pacific Banana SlugAriolimax columbianus
Bull KelpNereocystis luetkeana
Red Rock CrabCancer productus
Scan this rock pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.