Join the California Academy of Sciences as we try to find and document all the species we can in the tidepools at Pillar Point as part of the Solstice Sea Star Search! You will need the iNaturalist app on your phone and an account made, some rubber boots (or other shoes with good tread that can get wet!) and your curiosity. We'll spend a couple hours exploring the tidepools for starfish, crabs, nudibranchs, seaweed, urchins... everything! Search carefully and you're bound to find hundreds of species!

We recommend familiarizing yourself with iNaturalist before you come. If you haven't used it before, download the free iNaturalist app to your phone and create an account. Make a few observations around your yard or neighborhood to get a feel for the app.

Here's how the bioblitz will work:

• We will meet in the Pillar Point picnic table (at the end of the dirt trail) at 3:15pm for a brief round of introductions and information. Plan to arrive 10-15 minutes early to park, change into tidepooling footwear, and use the restrooms. There is a porta-potty at the trailhead near the parking lot. (Low tide is -1.1 feet at around 4:30pm).
• Pillar Point is VERY popular on low tides, so arriving early and/or carpooling will hopefully help you secure a parking spot.
• We have included a map below that shows the main parking lot and two other locations to look for parking, and the shortest way to walk to the reef from them. Please note that the alternative parking locations will add at least 0.25 miles of distance to the tidepooling area.
• From the main parking lot, there is about a 0.5 mile walk on a mostly-flat dirt trail from the main parking lot to Mavericks Beach. We will cross the sandy beach area for about 0.1 - 0.2 miles to reach the rocky reef area where the tidepools are located.
• At the tidepools, you can explore on your own or join us in looking. Take photos / make iNaturalist observations of every species you can find! Once you upload them to iNaturalist, they'll automatically be added to the Snapshot Cal Coast 2023 project.
• Note that this area will involve navigating shallow, flat rocky surfaces that can be uneven and slippery. We recommend that you move at a pace and distance that feels comfortable to you. Getting up close to see animals in tidepools and in rock crevices may also involve some bending and crouching over.
• We'll plan to stay out on the reef for 2-3 hours, but you're welcome to leave whenever you need to!
• The full map can be viewed HERE