Tidepool Clinic

Fawn Custer leading a Lincoln City tidepool clinic, pre-pandemic.\Photo by Dennis White.

Join CoastWatch for a “tidepool explorience” in Lincoln City on Tuesday, April 19, beginning at 9:00 a.m.  Meet at the N.W. 15^th St. beach access.  The free event is open to all. 

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, CoastWatch is once again joining forces with the Lincoln City Visitor & Convention Bureau to sponsor a spring and summer series of tidepool talks and field trips, billed as “tidepool exploriences.”  This talk and rocky shore excursion will be led by Fawn Custer, formerly CoastWatch’s volunteer coordinator, who still assists the program with in-the-field training.

The tidepool clinic will provide an introduction to rocky shore ecosystems.  The session begins with a brief talk, before Custer takes participants on a field trip to the tidepools to identify the inhabitants, including sea stars, sea anemones, sea urchins and mussels.  The clinic lasts about an hour.  Questions are encouraged.  While aimed at the general public, the event will also be a good refresher for CoastWatchers with rocky shores on their adopted miles.

The “explorience” takes place on the beach at the 15th St. access in Lincoln City. To get there, from Highway 101 turn west onto 15th street (at the Jasmine Thai Restaurant) and continue west towards the ocean. There is ample street parking as well as a public parking lot nearby. Parking is also available at the Sea Gull Beachfront Motel near the beach access. Participants should plan to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early and dress in layers for Oregon Coast weather.  Rubber gloves, a rain jacket, and sunscreen would all be advisable.  For more information on the tidepool clinics, call (800) 452-2151 or visit

In case of inclement weather, check with Fawn at (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org, to make sure whether the walk is still taking place.