If you go tide-pooling at Tongue Point

For guided tours of the pools, you can contact Port Angeles-based Olympic Park Institute, which runs weekend and weeklong courses for school groups and families. Olympic Park Institute site or 800-775-3720.

Field guides

A good tide-pool field guide can help you figure out what you're looking at. These three get excellent reviews:

• "The Beachcomber's Guide to Seashore Life in the Pacific Northwest" by J. Duane Sept. Harbour Publishing, 1999

• "Brittle Stars & Mudbugs: An Uncommon Field Guide to Northwest Shorelines & Wetlands" by Patricia K. Lichen and Linda M. Feltner. Sasquatch Books, 2001

• "Shells and Shellfish of the Pacific Northwest: A Field Guide" by Rick M. Harbo. Harbour Publishing, 1996

Camping

Tongue Point is in 196-acre Salt Creek Recreation Area, a Clallam County park. The park has 39 RV sites with water and electricity hookups and 53 tent sites. The restrooms are large and clean and have showers. Camping costs $14 ($2 discount for Clallam County residents). There is no reservation system, and the park is full most weekends in July and August. On Sept. 18, the park hosts the Salt Creek Cross Country (running) Invitational, so that might not be the most peaceful time to visit. Information: Salt Creek Recreation Area online, 360-928-3441 or ccpsc@olypen.com

Getting there

From Seattle and the east side of Puget Sound, take the Bainbridge or Edmonds-Kingston ferries, then connect to Highway 101 bound for Port Angeles. About five miles west of Port Angeles, turn right on Highway 112 toward Neah Bay and Sekiu. After eight miles on Highway 112, you'll see signs for a right turn to Salt Creek Park. Follow these signs onto Camp Hayden Road. The park/recreation area is five miles ahead.

Tip for visitors

Inside the park, there are no signs to help you find the tide pools, but if you follow the main road toward the tent camping sites, you'll find them. Park in the second of the two small "Day Parking" lots. From there, a paved sidewalk leads to picnic tables overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and concrete steps take you down the bluff to Tongue Point. Day visits are free.

Food

The tiny town of Joyce is on Highway 112 just west of the turnoff to Salt Creek Park. For supplies and postcards, check out the old General Store and Post Office, which share a single building along the highway. Close by, the two restaurants in town are both good places to get very large hamburgers. The Family Kitchen (360-928-9777) offers the 16-ounce "Logger" for $14.95, and the Joyce Cafe (360-928-1012) has the 12-ounce "18-wheeler," with bacon and a homemade 10-inch bun, for $13.50. Call ahead for hours.

Attire and tide-pool etiquette

• Dress for wet and windy weather, even if it's sunny.

• Wear shoes that can get wet, such as sneakers or rubber boots.

• A walking stick can help on the slick rocks.

• Walk on what looks durable.

• Look but don't touch living things in tide pools.

• Only pick up a rock that you can lift with one hand, and if you do, be sure to put it back just as you found it.

• Don't pry an animal off the rocks — whatever it is, it's probably alive and prying will probably kill it.

• Remember that everywhere you step is a home for something.

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