Fox Island, Reid State Park

In Albums: nature

Aug 10th, 2003, by Alex Zorach

This photo shows Fox Island at Reid State Park. This island is accessible by foot at low tide only, by climbing along a rather long series of rocks and sandbars. At high tide, these rocks are mostly covered in water, and the island is inaccessible. The steep rocks in this area make for strong currents and sometimes violent waves crashing against these rocks and the nearby shore of the park, which, combined with the usually very cold water, makes this island unrealistic to swim to and from. If you are going to visit this island, make sure you check the tides very carefully and leave it quickly before the tide starts coming in.

The island itself is fairly barren, although it has some low, sparse vegetation. Much of it is covered with poison ivy. Not the most hospitable place!

Rather than climbing the whole way out to the island, I prefer to stop about halfway out the series of rocks and sandbars and look at some of the larger tidepools in these areas. These pools are teeming with life, and there I have found animals such as large starfish, sea urchins, crabs, many varieties of smaller shellfish, and even a small lobster once.