Hunting for sea shells
 

I will be in New England in mid October and enjoy walking on the beach hunting for seashells. Are there any? If so, which areas? I'm from California and there isn't much on our beaches anymore...thanks in advance!!

Unfortunately, the place with the most seashells I've ever seen is a beach on Sanibel Island in South West Florida on the Gulf of Mexico.

Sanibel is good although not as good as it used to be some ten years ago. Sorry, krmp, I realize that doesn't help you in NE.

How about the remote beaches of Nantucket - does anyone know?

New England offers nothing much on our beaches, some mussels shells, sometimes I find star fish but not the last several years. The most I can hope for is sea glass.

The only beaches here in San Diego that seem to have a lot of seashells left are beaches that are protected areas. Meaning tourists or beachcombers are allowed to "look" but not take away anymore. It allows tide pool sea life and seashells to make a comeback.

Sanibel and Captiva Islands in Florida.
Can't help you with the NE.

While you won't find the amount of shells you can still find in southwest florida, particularly on and around Marco Island - there are many spots in New England to find shells, sea glass and beach treasures - and unfortuantely coming after Labor Day, places like Spectacle Island and good spots in the harbor you won't have access to

New England has a lot of shoreline - tell

sorry....

anyway, I meant Columbus Day (access to Spectacle stops then I believe) you can check by googling the Boston Harbor islands -

but you need to tell us where you are going in Ne England - there are good spots in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, etc but where will you be?

You can usually find mussel, clam, slipper (or boat) shells, whelks, scallop, periwinkles...and perhaps horseshoe crab shells - along with other sea finds..
Neptune is our state shell, but hard to find.

Your best bet is after a storm or at least rainy day or a day where there are swells on the sea and to go early on a low tide -

Tell us where you will be and we can better suggest some good beaches to hunt on ...

"beachcombers are allowed to "look" but not take away anymore. It allows tide pool sea life and seashells to make a comeback."

worth repeating!

I do not think there are the same quantity and beauty of shells in New England as in tropical areas. My husband has been a New England scuba diver for decades and has rarely seen any outstanding shells. Lots of clams, mussels, periwinkles - but not the conch, etc you find in the tropics.

Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester is a flat, sandy beach with some rocks and tide pools that seem to collect some shells and small marine creatures. Low tide in off season sometimes is interesting.

NE waters do not get warm enough to support the sea life that you find in southern waters, so shells are limited to clams, mussles, scallop....pretty much the kind of shells you would find in your local fish market.

NE waters barely get warm enough to support human swimming. Perhaps by Labor Day, barely.

Coldest winter I ever spent was swimming in the summer in Cape Cod. (to paraphrase)

I was in Maine twice this past summer. Once in York Beach, and the other in Kennebunkport. Both times I saw some really cool shells. There were a lot of sand dollars in Kennebunkport, some very small and some about the size of a fifty cent piece. The biggest whole sand dollar I ever found was on Anna Maria Island in Florida. I was walking along the beach and looked down and there was a sand dollar about six inches wide. I now display that sand dollar on a plate rack. Have a great trip!