Scattering Your Loved One’s Ashes in Water

Finding the final resting place for your loved one is a momentous decision.

You and their closest family and friends want to find a special location which commemorates their memory both now and in the years to come. Sometimes, this destination might be a favorite place where they traveled or an area near a well-loved childhood home. Other times, friends and family ensure the ashes arrive to a destination the loved one may not have visited in life but now rests in passing.

Alternatively, you may desire a unique location which moves beyond the land into the water. How does land scattering compare to water scattering? What are your options to scatter your loved one’s ashes into the water?

Choosing a Water Scattering

Land scattering, although it appeals to many, is not the only option for a final resting place for your loved one’s ashes. Water scattering is a very viable and desirable choice. Broadly considered, water scattering means that your loved one’s ashes are deposited among the waves in any place that has water. Although some restrictions apply, this could mean a stream, river, lake, sea, ocean, or other form of water. No matter the type, water offers a serene resting final resting place.

Pacific Ocean

One popular location for your loved one’s ashes final destination is the Pacific Ocean, the largest and deepest ocean on earth. Spanning a vast coastline in the mainland United States, many locations offer majestic and memorable spots to celebrate and commemorate life. These include iconic Californian beaches and harbors, such as Newport Beach and San Francisco, as well as stunning palces in and around Seattle, Washington. Additionally, Hawaii is a tropical destination, and many chose locations such as Oahu for final commemoration.

Atlantic Ocean

As the second largest ocean on earth, the Atlantic Ocean serves as a great final memorial destination. With miles of available locations spanning across the east coast from Maine to Florida, many chose the Atlantic as the final place of celebration and commemoration. North Carolina’s Outer Banks and New York’s Montauk offer serene resting places as well as numerous locations along Florida’s coastline, including Tampa and Key West.

Urns for Your Water Scattering

Water scatterings are often best completed through using a type of urn to transport your loved one’s ashes into the depths of the chosen water location and to provide for an experience of celebration, commemoration, and closure.

Water Urns

Eco Water Urns are 100% biodegradable and packaged in a bamboo case which protects the urn during storage and transportation to its final location. Once placed into the water, it is designed to float in a similar manner to a buoy as the bottom portion begins to slowly dissolve and release the ashes into the soothing waves. Gradually, the rest of the urn will fade into the water out of sight. Such an urn is thoughtfully designed to allow you and other friends and family members to bring your loved one’s ashes to their final resting place with dignity and ease.

Bamboo Cylinder Urns

Eco Scattering is one of the most popular urn options offered by funeral homes throughout the country. While commonly used in land scatterings, many families also select this special urn for scatterings in water. The Eco Scattering Urn is made entirely from bamboo, a sustainable resource, and is easy to use. It is 100% biodegradable and an affordable option compared to other available urns.

Ice Urn

Water scatterings can involve your loved one’s ashes resting in water but also being transported by another form of water: ice. The patented Flow, the Ice Urn is a breathtaking floating urn comprised entirely of ice, one of the most visually stunning natural substances. Floating gracefully through the water, this urn gradually frees the cremated remains of your loved one as it returns the ashes to nature int the most environmentally-friendly manner.

Services to Enhance Your Water Scattering

Once you’ve chosen your desired water location, you might encounter some practical questions. Are you able to travel to that location yourself? What if you would like assistance in planning the travel and commemorative service? Three ash scattering service options can enable the transport of your loved one’s ashes to desired locations across the U.S. and help with facilitating the scattering.

Unaccompanied Scattering

This desirable scattering service can equip you to honor the memory of your loved one. This allows one of our trained professionals to transport your loved one’s ashes to a desired location and perform the scattering in a dignified way. This will be performed with an eco-friendly scattering urn of choice and can be on a date of your choosing. Additionally, you receive a certificate of scattering, photos and video of the scattering, and an official permanent recording of the scattering including exact GPS coordinates and a date and time stamp, and more.

Accompanied Scattering

This premium ash scattering service includes many features that enhance the journey. Building upon all the features offered in unaccompanied scattering, this service further provides a ceremony guide, coordination and accompaniment of family and friends to the desired location and scattering, additional video options, a personalized ceremony, and more.

Destination Scattering

This service provides the most customizable options catered to your needs and desires to best celebrate and commemorate your loved one. With the ability to be completed in numerous locations in the U.S. and even abroad, this ensures a highly dignified and memorable immersive commemorative experience upon request.

Choosing a Land Scattering

Land scattering is a popular option that allows for many to commemorate their loved one well. Broadly speaking, land scattering is any type of ash scattering that transpires in a specially chosen location which does not involve scattering in any form of water. When choosing this option, many different locations and opportunities are available to uniquely honor the memory of your loved one.

Special landmarks

Scattering the ashes of your loved one is possible at many locations across the United States. National Parks--such as the Rocky Mountains, Yosemite, Zion, and more - even some local and state parks accommodate scattering. Others may desire to scatter at less well-known locations especially unique to each individual. Through checking the local or state regulations, you can ensure you accommodate any area-specific rules or requirements as you commemorate your loved one’s memory.

Additionally, you can choose one land location for all of the ashes to rest, or you can consider having multiple scattering events at various final locations for the ashes. Biodegradable urns serve well in such a transportation process. The scattering can be completed at one time through a final resting place in nature, or it can be finished across a span of time in order to best suit the needs and desires of all involved.

Fertile soil

In the chosen land locations, another popular option, besides casting or trenching the ashes, is to plant them in a unique urn conducive to new life. Often, people can choose an eco urn that is fitted with new growth, such as a tree or plant, to be produced over time. This plant can then be transported to a variety of national or local destinations to keep giving back to the earth.

What now?

We have many resources and articles to help you with this process as you choose between land and water scatterings and begin to coordinate the details to ensure a profound experience. Find additional helpful information on the blog, such as Planning an Eco-Friendly Burial, A Guide to Hosting an Online Memorial, and other articles. You can learn others’ experiences and discover both what they liked and didn’t like from our customer testimonials or on our Facebook page.