My favorite time of year to go beachcombing is winter. There aren't as many people, so parking is a breeze. It also means that treasures aren't as picked over, especially in some of my favorite spots on MDI. I know a lot of people might complain about the cold and dreary-ness of the winter months up here in Maine, but walking the beach with a little cold wind whipping, dodging patches of ice and looking for the bright flash of seaglass hiding out in the beach stones helps my mood more than the extra vitamin D from sun.
I haven't been very often this summer, because in case no one else has been watching the weather this winter, we've been a little frigid up here. I don't mean our normal temperatures just below freezing; I mean below zero, temperatures so cold your nose hairs freeze as soon as you get out of the car. But eventually we will get back to normal-ish temperatures! And those days are coming soon.
Here are my must haves for winter beachcombing!
- Earwarmer: Frigid winds coming off the Atlantic may look romantic in a TikTok, but they'll give you an earache before you get onto the rocky coast.
- Fingerless Gloves: The winds aren't any kinder to your fingers, but it's also difficult to pick up treasures with your hand completely covered.
- Pockets: You may think pockets are for treasures you find (and they do work well in a pinch), but if you're like me, I always end up needing a place to store my earwarmer and gloves before I finish an adventure.
- Bag: This is what I like to have around (and often handy in my car) to hold any and all treasures from exploring.
- Extra Bag: There's more than just treasures that wash up on the shores unfortunately, so I like to keep an extra bag for trash that I find. I feel like this is my own way of thanking the beaches for sharing their treasures with me.