St. Simons Island

Shells you'll find at St. Simons Island

The shells the wrack line reliably delivers here, plus the rarer finds patient collectors chase after storms.

• Common find

  Moon Snail

• Common find

  Whelk

• Common find

  Atlantic Jingle Shell

  Anomia simplex

• Common find

  Ark Shell

• Common find

  Coquina

  Donax variabilis

Notable finds

• Rare / notable

  Knobbed Whelk

  Busycon carica

Reading the beach

Gould's Inlet on the north end of East Beach is the classic shell spot — walk the falling tide as the current sweeps shells around the point.

Habitat features · Barrier Island · Wrack Line · Sandy Intertidal

Shelling tips

• East Beach at low tide covers a huge flat — walk out toward the sandbars for the best moon snails and whelks.
• Weekday mornings before the sun is up are quietest; the tide line resets overnight.
• The stretch between the pier and Gould's Inlet consistently out-shells the central beach access.