You’ve seen them in coastal shops, in beach cottages and on your social media feed — perfectly round sand dollars are the ultimate beachcombing prize in Seaside. In order to find these treasures, there are a few secrets to know. The first is timing: Check the tide tables at the back of this guide and head to the shoreline about an hour before low tide — in fact, your best luck is during a minus tide, when the sun and moon are aligned. You may try starting at 12th Avenue and heading north. Bring a bucket for collecting your treasures, as you’ll likely find quite a few. However, it’s important to leave some on the beach for others to find. It is also important to know which ones to pick up and which ones to leave. Sand dollars are actually the skeletons of sea urchins. When they are purple or taupe-colored and fuzzy, they are living creatures, so please leave them on the beach. Those that are white are good to keep — they are no longer alive and they’ve faded in color from the sun. You may see just a crescent of the sand dollar sticking out from the wet sand, so make sure to get your hands dirty and pluck them out. While you’re hunting for sand dollars, you’ll likely see other treasures on the beach as well: all sorts of sea shells, bull kelp, “shows” from razor clams and even entire Dungeness crab shells left from molting (or a seagull’s recent feast). Please respect local plants and wildlife, and make sure your dogs are well behaved under voice command or keep them on leash. While you’re busy looking down, make sure to look up occasionally — you just may spot the spout of a migrating whale or the splash of a playful harbor seal. Never turn your back on the ocean, and beware of dangerous sneaker waves and rip tides. Before long, you’ll have quite a collection of these beautifully patterned and classic beach shells — make sure to thank Mother Nature for her handiwork. find sand dollars Sand dollars are easy to find in Seaside. DON FRANK 12 seasideOR.com
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