MacKerricher State Park In-person field trip
Book an in-person field trip for MacKerricher State Park!
Bring your learning to life with an in-person field trip to MacKerricher State Park. On your field trip, you and your students will join Interpreter Kat Gabrielson for a guided hike through MacKerricher State Parks' Laguna Point Boardwalk and tidepools!
Prior to your field trip, we recommend you...
Schedule a pre-visit PORTS Program
Explore passPORTS instructional Resources
“Dive in” to the unique habitats of tidepool creatures and harbor seals with this 2-hour in-person field trip experience! This provides you and your students the opportunity to join us for an immersive experience in MacKerricher State Park and the MacKerricher State Marine Conservation Area. Students will explore the MacKerricher State Park tidepools to find and identify common tidepool creatures, their unique adaptations, and potential threats to this fragile habitat. During this time, students will learn what a Marine Protected Area is and why these protected areas of the ocean are important.
Students will walk the Laguna Point Boardwalk to a harbor seal rookery for live viewing of MacKerricher’s year-long marine mammal residents. Here, students will use binoculars to observe the seals in their natural habitat. Together, we share what the students observed and why they believe certain physical or behavioral traits may be helpful to the survival of this animal. During this time, we work together to identify the 5 major traits all mammals share, the challenges marine mammals face (natural and human-caused), and what we can do to help the ocean and the amazing animals that call it home.
***PLEASE NOTE*** Listed times below correlate with low-tide events at Mackerricher State Beach. See the calendar below to book your in-person field trip!