Crab Cove
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Alameda, CA 94501
Crab Cove Photos
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Description
Crab Cove Visitor Center is located at the northwest end of Robert Crown Memorial State Beach in Alameda. The visitor center features bay creatures in its 800-gallon aquarium system, interactive stations for viewing microscopic animals, a great shark exhibit, and various other hands-on activity stations. At the Visitor Center you can also travel back in time to learn about the "Coney Island of the West": Neptune Beach and its colorful past.
Just outside the visitor center is the Crab Cove Marine Protected Area. This was the first California estuarine marine reserve. Its mud flat and rocky shore area are an important wildlife habitat. It's here that you are free to explore to your heart's content. Look for sea snails or crabs. Watch them burrow deeper after the tide goes out. Just be sure to bring rainboots and a change of clothes. One slip and you're in the stinky mud.
One unique aspect at the Protected Area is a special ramp that allows wheelchair users to explore the tide pools at low tide. It's wonderful that everyone can experience the tide pools. But remember that collecting or disturbing creatures in the marine reserve is forbidden, thus preserving a unique shoreline environment for study and education for years to come.