Six U.S. Beaches with Stunning Seashell Variety You Can Go Treasure Hunt

The beauty of a beach depends on many factors - including shells. Where in the US you can admire stunning places full of sea snails, clams and shells, reports Readers Digest.

Photo: IStock

Sanibel Island, Florida

Named the best seashell spot in North America by Travel & Leisure magazine, Sanibel Island is located near Fort Meyers in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a real paradise for lovers of seashells.

“It turns out that the region's east-west topography makes it an ideal final resting place for an amazing diversity of shells,” says Gabe Salier, senior editor at Travelzoo. “There are 400 species in total, thousands of which wash ashore every day. Florida horse snail, giant clams, spotted scallops—take your pick. The Junonia sink is a local favorite.”

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Sanibel is home to the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, the only museum in the United States dedicated to shells.

Collecting shells from any beach can disrupt the local aquatic ecosystem (they serve as a home for hermit crabs, a hiding place for small fish, and material for birds to build their nests), so it's best to admire, photograph, and then leave the shells in natural habitat.

Tybee Island, Georgia

Located 20 minutes from downtown Savannah, Georgia, Tybee Island is an eight-kilometer beach that is ideal for beach lovers.

You'll find a variety of shells, including clams, olives, and moon snails in a variety of colors. For example, Ark shells, one of the most common types of bivalve shells, come in gray, dark red, orange, gold and white. You never know where the best places to find shells will be on Tybee due to the changing tides. But you will find large deposits of shells just by walking along the sand. In calmer parts of the beach you are more likely to find more fragile shellfish - maktrids, feather shells, sea clams and Angel Wings tiarella.

Cameron Parish, Louisiana

Most people don't think about beaches in Louisiana. But the beaches on the western side of the state, in Cameron Parish, are full of surprises. This part of the state is called the "Louisiana Outback" and is full of natural wonders (and ten times as many alligators as people).

“Traveling the Creole Nature Trail is an amazing way to explore the area. 41 km of natural beaches that are undeveloped but also easily accessible. This makes them ideal places to look for clams, tiarella, cat's eyes, olives, epitoniums, barnacles and small shells,” says Ann Klenke, director of tourism for the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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“Rutherford Beach at the eastern end of Cameron Parish is a great location, and the smaller beaches west of Holly Beach are also prime areas for collecting shells,” she says.

Why are there so many shells here? Located west of the Mississippi Delta, the beaches are constantly replenished by the southeast tidal flow of the Mississippi River, which carries rich deposits of driftwood and a wide variety of shells. The ebb after storm system offers the best selection of sinks of all types and sizes.

New Smyrna Beach, Florida

The beautiful and expansive beaches of New Smyrna Beach, south of Daytona Beach, are postcard-worthy, but the thousands of different shells covering several sections of the beach make it a hiker's paradise. “A lot of them are in great shape,” says Rhonda Weaver, founder of the travel blog Roaming Red Feather. - Rounded edges, different sizes and colors from red and white to dark brown and pink. With so many shells everywhere, it's wise to wear comfortable shoes."

Be careful if you enter the water as this place is also known as the shark attack capital.

Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina

You may recognize the iconic lighthouse on North Carolina's Crystal Coast, but the coastline is also 56 stretches of undeveloped, inviting beach accessible only by boat.

You can find stranded scallops and other types of shellfish on these beaches - try to comb the beach early in the morning, during low tide, after a storm, or during less busy periods such as the winter months for the best catch.

They recently found a helmet shell the size of a basketball - four times the size of the average!

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Keewaydin Island, Naples, Florida

If you're looking for plenty of shell beaches, Florida's Gulf Coast is the place to be. “Keewaydin Island in Naples, Florida, is largely uninhabited,” says travel expert Charles McCool. — If you arrive on a weekday morning by private boat or on an eco-tour, you'll likely have at least 1,5 km of pristine beach. I found dozens of intact and perfectly preserved sea urchins.”

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