How to Find Sand Dollars (10 Easy Tips)

What’s your favorite thing to do at the beach? When we visit the beach we love playing in the sand and waves but we also love looking for treasures. We love trying to find sand dollars, sharks’ teeth, sea glass, and unique shells.

Growing up I remember seeing a couple of sand dollars some of my older cousins found on the beach in California.

As hard as I tried I never found a sand dollar, I did find some sea glass on a couple of our trips to the California coast.

Because I only ever saw a couple of sand dollars I remember thinking they were hard to find and very rare.

I had never found a sand dollar at any beach until our trip to Oregon a couple of years ago when we found a ton of them.

What made the difference? Having someone give us tips on how to find sand dollars.

How to Find Sand Dollars

On our most recent trip to Oregon, one of the things I wanted to do was find sand dollars again now that our kids are older.

We spent time exploring a different beach and we were still able to find a couple of sand dollars including a live one.

What is a Sand Dollar?

Sand dollars are really interesting they look like seashells when we find them on the beach.

But they aren’t shells they are the exoskeleton of a sea urchin.

Sand Dollars are flattened burrowing sea urchins.

The white sand dollars we find on the beach are called a test, it is the exoskeleton of the urchin.

There are a couple of different types of sand dollars that can be found in different areas and on different beaches.

Pacific Sand Dollar

The Dendraster excentricus or the pacific sand dollar is found along the North American Pacific coast from southern Alaska to Baja, California.

This is the type we have found on the Oregon coast.

These sand dollars are solid and don’t have the holes you sometimes see in pictures of sand dollars.

Read more about the pacific sand dollar here.

Keyhole Urchin

The Mellita quinquiesperforata or keyhole urchin is a tropical sand dollar.

You can find these types of sand dollars along the eastern coast of the United States from Virginia down to Florida and along the Gulf of Mexico to Texas.

This type of sand dollar has holes in the exoskeleton.

Outside of the United States, these sand dollars can be found in Mexico, Brazil, Bermuda, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

You can read more about the keyhole urchin here.

Interesting facts about Sand Dollars

Young sand dollars swallow sand to weigh themselves down in rough water.

Sand dollars are usually clustered together in sandy or muddy flat areas in shallow water near land. (We saw evidence of this as we found tests along the beach in Seaside, Oregon.)

How to Tell if a Sand Dollar is Alive?

See if it’s moving. Hold the sand dollar gently in the palm of your hand and watch the spines. If they are moving, it is still alive.
Check the Color. The white tests you find are the exoskeleton. Live sand dollars can range from a deep brown to a dark purple that’s almost black. Once they die the color starts to fade and eventually is bleached white by the sun.
If it leaves a yellowish stain, it’s alive. Live sand dollars produce echinochrome, which will turn your skin yellow. It’s harmless, but another way to tell if it’s alive. To test it simply put a sand dollar on your open palm and leave it there for a minute.
Is it furry? If a sand dollar looks “furry” it’s most likely alive. The tiny spines that cover living urchins can give the sand dollar a furry or velvet-like look and feel.

Related Post: Finding Sharks Teeth at Mickler Beach

Where to Find Sand Dollars?

Sand dollars can be found in many places in the united states and throughout the world.

We have found sand dollars in a couple of different places along the Oregon Coast as well as in Maryland.

We have been lucky enough to see both tests (the exoskeleton) that you can take home and living sand dollars that we put back in the ocean.

So where can you find sand dollars? Is it just an Oregon thing? No, it’s not just an Oregon thing you can find these amazing creatures in a lot of different areas around the world.

Sand Dollars on the Beach. Sand Dollars are interesting they look like sea shells when we find them. Growing up I saw a couple sand dollars and thought they were very rare. thekeeledeal.com

All it takes is a quick google search of where to find sand dollars in “state” and you will find that they can be found in many different areas along the coasts.

There are different types of sand dollars and these are found in different areas. You will find a different type of sand dollar along the east coast then you will along the west coast.

Warmer and colder climates impact which type of sand dollar you will find.

Related Post: Exploring Oregon Coast Tide Pools

When is the Best Time to Find Sand Dollars

The best time to head out to the beach to find sand dollars is at the early morning low tide.

It’s possible to find them in the afternoon at low tide but typically you have better luck in the morning.

Tips for finding Sand Dollars

Like with finding anything on the beach finding sand dollars can take some luck.

Being at the right place at the right time will definitely help, but sometimes even then you won’t find what you thought you would.

Find the Best Beach for Sand Dollars in the Area

Before you go to the beach to find sand dollars do a quick online search to see if anyone has found sand dollars on the beach you are planning to visit.

You can also find helpful tips about where to look in the area by doing this quick search for “the best place to find sand dollars in (town, state, country)”.

Check the Tide

Be sure to check the low tide calendar, low tide is the time to visit.

Since sand dollars live just beyond the shallow coastline waters, at low tide you will find them at the waters edge and many times the tide will bring the tests even closer.

Look along the Waters Edge

Walk along the edge of the water is a great place to start your search.

Many times you will find sand dollars and other treasures right along where the surf stops or in the shallow waters.

You will probably find broken tests before you find unbroken ones but be patent it’s always exciting to find a perfect test.

My Guys walking on the Beach. Sand Dollars are interesting they look like sea shells when we find them. Growing up I saw a couple sand dollars and thought they were very rare. thekeeledeal.com

Watch for Circles

Often sand dollars are lightly covered with sand making them harder to see.

Keep an eye out for circles in the sand. Often when covered they will look like a slight circle depression in the sand.

Search After a Storm

Visiting the beach after a storm is a perfect time to find sand dollars and other treasures. The rough waves of a storm often bring sea treasures up onto the beach.

Check if It’s Alive

If you find a sand dollar in the water be sure to check if it’s alive.

If they are in the water they are most likely living, but sometimes you will find white-bleached tests in the water too.

Don’t Forget a Bucket

Don’t forget to bring a bucket to carry the tests, shells, and other things you find as you explore the coast.

Be Careful

After all your hard work searching for sand dollars don’t forget to be gentle, sand dollar tests break easily.

Sand dollars are very fragile and easily chip and break so be careful handling them and carrying them in your bucket.

Avoid the Stink!

Don’t forget to wash the tests when you get home so they don’t stink.

Wash the tests until you stop getting sand in the water.

Then soak them in a water and bleach mixture for about 10 minutes before setting them in the sun to dry. This will help whiten the sand dollars as well as prevent them from stinking.

Have fun and Enjoy the Experience

While finding sand dollars is your ultimate goal have fun, enjoy the sound of the waves, and make memories on the beach.

Even if you don’t find anything you get to spend the day at the beach and it doesn’t get much better than that.

How to Preserve and Harden Tests

After all the work of finding and cleaning your sand dollar you probably want to preserve it and make it a little bit stronger if you can.

After cleaning your tests with bleach and water you can use a mixture of equal parts white glue and water.

Simply paint the test with the glue mixture and let it dry. Now your sand dollar is ready to be used in a project or displayed in your home for years to come.

Finding Sand Dollars on the Oregon Coast

We have found sand dollars on a couple of different beaches along the Oregon Coast.

Seaside, Oregon was the first beach we found them on a couple of years ago.

Seaside, Oregon

A couple of years ago while we were on the coast for a family reunion. Some of Jared’s Aunts were talking about how they had found sand dollars on the beach.

They told us they had found over 100 of them on the beach one morning, so we decided to try and find a few.

As we headed out to the beach the Ocean was clear out. We found a few whole sand dollars and several broken ones as we walked toward the ocean. Once we were clear out to the edge of the water there were sand dollars everywhere. thekeeledeal.com

Before we went to the beach we checked to see when low tide was at the beach we were planning to visit (Seaside, OR).

We got to the beach just a few minutes after the low tide time we found online. When we pulled into the parking lot we saw a family walking to their car with buckets full of sand dollars, so we knew we were at the right place.

As we headed out to the beach the ocean was clear out, so it was a hike.

We found a few unbroken tests and several broken ones as we walked toward the ocean.

The little man finding Sand Dollars. Sand Dollars are interesting they look like sea shells when we find them. Growing up I saw a couple sand dollars and thought they were very rare. thekeeledeal.com

Once we were out to the edge of the water there were sand dollars everywhere.

Without moving more than a couple of feet we found 30+ with hundreds more scattered up and down the beach.

We saw a few Sand Dollars that were still alive. Before you go searching for sand dollars be sure to know what to look for to tell if it is still alive. (see the section above for a simple guide to check if your find is living.)

For a simple reference if they are bleached white and smooth they are dead. Living sand dollars have a darker color and a fuzzy texture.

Pro Tip: If you visit Seaside Oregon a wonderful place to access the beach is down 12^th avenue. If you follow 12^th toward the ocean at the end of the street there is a free parking lot, a bathroom building with outside water to rinse off, and a trail to the beach.

Rockaway Beach, Oregon

On our most recent visit to the Oregon coast, we found a few sand dollars in Rockaway Beach but not nearly as many as we found on our first trip to Seaside.

If your visiting Seaside Oregon a wonderful place to access the beach is down 12th avenue. If you follow 12th toward the ocean at the end of the street there is a free parking lot, a bathroom building with outside water to rinse off and a trail to the beach. thekeeledeal.com

There is a reason for this you can find out why Seaside has so many sand dollars in this article.

While out exploring the coast in Rockaway Beach one morning we found several broken tests, one living sand dollar, and one unbroken test.

While you can find sand dollars at Rockaway Beach it can take more time and luck than finding them at Seaside.

Traveling Home

After finding our treasures on the beach we needed to get all the sand off and out of the sand dollars so we could take them home.

We rinsed them in the bathtub which got rid of most of the sand.

Rinsing Sand Dollars in the bathtub Sand Dollars are interesting they look like sea shells when we find them. Growing up I saw a couple sand dollars and thought they were very rare. thekeeledeal.com

For our trip home, I put them between a bunch of clothes in our suite case.

When I was unpacking that suite case I discovered several of the tests had broken. (I think we needed bubble wrap or something to get them all home in one piece.) I also found that the whole suite case stunk.

After doing some research I found a few articles saying to soak the tests in a bleach-water mixture.

After soaking for a short time they no longer stunk, and they were also whiter than when we found them.