If I had to choose my favourite thing to do as a family in Vancouver it would be heading out with the low tide at Spanish Banks. Since I was a little girl my parents have been bringing us down to Spanish Banks beach – enjoying picnics on the grass, building sand castles in the sand and playing in the waves. We are always keeping an eye on what time of day low tide will be, and just how low it will get.
During the summer the lowest tides happen during the day. It is super easy to find out just when low tide will be. Head online to a website like Tide Forecast and it will tell you exactly when you want to hit up the beach.
Low tide is perfect for little kids wanting to explore the tidal pools – finding small fish and crabs. The shallow water is often nice and warm and the wet sand can be fabulous for making sand castles. When the tide is at its lowest at Spanish Banks you can walk out really far, so close you can see the freighters anchored in the bay fairly close up.
So pack a small backpack with a towel and some sand toys and make a plan to walk out with the tide. It doesn’t even have to be a sunny day – we love exploring low tide on the overcast and rainy days too. Just be sure to keep track of when the tide starts coming in, it can happen fast and I’ve seen sandals float out to sea quickly if they get left behind.