Your Florida Gulf Beach Shelling Guide

Gulf Coast Shelling Tips

Grab your small rake or shovel and don’t forget a bucket or bag to take with you�that’s all you need to start your Florida Gulf Coast shelling adventure! It’s an excellent hobby or fun activity for all ages and you don’t need much to get started. Who doesn’t love a good stroll on the beach where you get to bring home some beautiful souvenirs? Best of all, seashell collecting is free!

Florida’s gulf beaches are known as some of the best shelling spots in the country. The less foot and vehicle traffic; the better the shelling. Sometimes time and chance allow you to stumble upon some really great finds without much effort; other times, you have to work a bit to search for those coastal treasures.

Here are a few of our best shelling tips!

The best time to go sea shell hunting is at low tide or after a storm. Check out Gulf Coast tide charts here.

Look at the moon phase. New moons and full moons have the most extreme tides and offer the best shelling.

Choose accommodations close to the beach. If you want easy access during those early morning or late evening shelling trips, stay right on the beach. Less hassle, no parking issues, convenient anytime you want to get out on the sand.

Check the wind direction for the location and days you want to shell. Depending on where you are, you want to choose a day when the wind is at your best advantage for your specific location.

Once you find your treasures, you’ll want to clean and restore the shell’s original colors. How do you do it? What’s the best ways to clean your seashells? Check out this shell cleaning tutorial.

Florida Shelling Laws

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission allows for the recreational collecting of most dead/uninhabited shells in the state, but for those who are intending to collect live shells, you must hold a Florida recreational saltwater fishing license. Collection of the Bahama Starfish and live Queen Conchs is prohibited across the state. It’s also a good idea to check out the local laws in regards to any other regulations on shell collecting. Sometimes counties, state and national parks, and wildlife refuges have additional requirements when it comes to harvesting shells.

Gulf Beach Shell Identification Guide

Now that you’re ready to find out more about our local gulf beach finds, check out these gorgeous seashell photos of our coastal treasures with names to help you identify what they are. We’ve kept the shell categories pretty general, but their are plenty of varieties in each category depending on the colorings and markings. You can do some further investigation here if necessary. Enjoy and happy hunting!