Experience - Low Tide at the Homer Ferry Dock and the Lee Shore of the Spit

Sea stars under the ferry dock

Summary

Low tide is one of my favorite times to visit the beach and the area around the base of the ferry dock is one of my favorite places.  Although I also really enjoy Bishop’s Beach and Mariner Park.  At low tide, you can get a glimpse of sea life you would
never see at any other time.  The Ferry Dock is always good at low tide, but the lower the tide the more you can see.  The best low tides for viewing are -2 feet or lower.

Trail Advice

The gravel beach is fairly easy walking, but the rocks will shift, especially above the tideline.  You also have a real chance of getting your feet wet.  I recommend either beach shoes with decent treads that are designed to get wet or some version of plastic boot so your feet don’t get wet at all.  When making your choice, remember the water is cold, and rises at more than foot an hour when the tide changes. 

Suitability

This beach under the dock is suitable for adults, children, and dogs.  

Trailhead

The easiest way to access the ferry dock is to drive all the way to the end of the Spit.  Past the ferry loading area and just before you reach the Lands End Resort, there is a newly paved parking lot on the left.  Park there and walk down to the water, heading left until you reach the dock pilings.

For a beach walk instead, drive up the Spit.  Turn left just after the fishing hole and drive to the end of a large gravel lot.  Much of the lot is filled with RVs in the summer, but there are a few spots for cars.  At end of the lot is a sign for the Kachemak Bay Water Trail.

The Experience

Both of the experiences described here are best started about 1 hour before low tide on a day where the tide drops to -2 feet or more.  Once the tide turns, the water is filled with sand and hides more than it reveals.  Plus, you have to pay attention in order to stay above the incoming tide.

Sea stars on the beach 

Sea stars on the pilings

Starting with a description of the ferry dock area, the dock is an easy walk from the parking lot.  The first thing you notice as you approach the dock pilings is the sea stars (once called starfish) that litter the sand just above the tide line.  As I approached the pilings I had to watch my feet to avoid stepping on them.  When you get closer you can see sea stars by the dozens clinging to the pilings and in a heap below them.  

Dappled light and pilings

The area under the dock is in heavy shade and the dappled light where the sun reaches through makes a beautiful effect.  Don’t forget to look under the water along the pilings.  At the very edge of the low tide line, you can see a variety of tube worms living in clusters on the pilings.

Fishers on the shore

Above, on the dock, hundreds of gulls make their homes along the supports just below the dock.   Their calls are a constant background to your explorations.  Oh, a quick note, wear a hat.  The gulls do play bombardier and I’d rather wash a hat than have their bombs in my hair.

On a nice day, the beach at the tip of the Spit plays host to shore-fishers, children, and dogs all playing in the sun and surf.

Sea star's abound on the beach walk

If you prefer a more active exploration of the low tide beach, there is a wonderful beach walk just past the fishing hole.  From the parking lot described above work your way down the long beach to the water.  First you walk across sand, then on muscles (which I hate because I’m always afraid of crushing them).  This section of beach is covered in pools of water, tiny moving streams, and huge swaths of seaweed.  Be very careful.  The seaweed and be extremely slippery especially where it hides larger rocks. 

Anemone exposed
by the tide

When you finally get to within a few feet of the tideline the fun begins.  To the left is a long, flat stretch of beach.  To the right, the beach wanders beside the riprap used to shore up the Spit.  In this direction, you will pass two or three dolphins (also a term for a fender set into the water to keep boats from running into rocks) whose pilings are completely exposed.  Either direction is fascinating.

Barnacles on the pilings

All along the beach, tucked under the seaweed, resting in pools and streams, huddled next to rocks, and just lying out on the sand are a myriad of sea stars in every color and size.  Less common, but still easy to spot are anemones pulled back into their own bodies as far as they can go, waiting for the water to return.  You can also find barnacles clinging to the dolphins and rocks.  Dead crabs abound, but occasionally you can spot a living one sheltering in a pool of water.  And everywhere you look there are gulls, crows, ravens, and eagles taking advantage of the feast.  The dolphins’ pilings are set in large tires.  The sea stars are particularly fond of them as a place to wait out the tide change.

Sea star clinging to a
dolphin

You can also find people clamming along the shore, but check with the locals first.  The clams are not always safe to eat.  In 2015 and 2016, they were carrying a virus that closed clam fishing.

Whether you visit the ferry dock or the lee shore, the Homer Spit is a wonderful place to explore at low tide.