Do you really know who you’re sharing the beach with? Purple sand dollars gobble bits of metal to stay grounded in turbulent waters. Mole crabs move sand like a conveyor belt. Hardworking bees sculpt ...

Sand dollar skeletons and fossils turn Ocean Beach into a living lab—perfect for a family day trip. Sand dollar skeletons, or “tests,” wash up in great numbers on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach.

The Oregon Coast offers beachgoers activities like hunting for glass floats, sightseeing, sand raking and collecting sand dollars. While finding a whole sand dollar can be rare, there is a rocky beach ...