Hi Jennifer,
Is there something particular you don't like about the drainage? Is there any kind of slope in the space for the water to drain away? I also have an outdoor shower. A large tumbled stone is in the middle and the water drains into the ground around it. I was adding pea stones around the big stone, but eventually I just let the grass grow up.

Sue

Most outdoor showers have a dry well for drainage. Our cousin has one (with a dry well) and our contractor also plans to install a dry well when we put in ours next spring. We plan to have wood (teak) grating over the dry well.

And we live in Connecticut, along the shore - probably not that different from you!

I agree with Paul B. You're going to need to at the least, pull everything up and dig it out, put in a drain, or as I did - dig several large holes at least, fill it in with gravel for drainage,(I put down weed cloth at this point) then top the entire area with 4 -6" of washed river rock (1-3" in size) pour sand where you want your slate tiles and reset them making sure they are level. Play sand, (quickcrete) it's cheap @ $3.00 for a 50 #bag and it sets up slightly - great for pavers, steps etc. I did this where we have a fire pit. I purposely put the pit over an area that does not drain well and it has worked out great. No standing water even in our Seattle rains. I would forgo the shells as they can be sharp and just have the simplicity of washed river rock on the top - it will have a clean beachy look. If you like your shells, get a few wire baskets, one for shells and one to hang on your fence for shower misc. Maybe a potted bamboo in the corner. (pot it as it will send out runners and can bust up concrete over the years if planted in the ground) But it will certainly look great in a pot and go well with your theme.

I like Paul's suggestion about the teak deck over the entire area. But I'd still like to understand the drainage problem better. Is it sloped? Adding a dry well can be a big undertaking. The sea shells could be just holding water which isn't helping.

Hi Jennifer…we have this exact issue - three daughters who love the outdoor shower and have long hair (read: extra long showers)..so we used to have swamp lands around the shower…we dug out a drainage area, filled it with large stones (where the biggest puddles would form) then built the shower floor up onto a teak (we used azek so you wouldn't need to deal with it later) deck which also helps to spread the water around a bit more….MUCH MUCH better..nothing crazy expensive here..your soil is just not ready for that sort of consistent drenching..good luck!!

"There isn't any type of formal drainage system at this time. The water just gets absorbed into the ground"

Nothing you do on top of the ground will help you when the ground gets water-soaked. Shower less or create a real drain system.

Least effort would be adding a slightly elevated water catching pan of some sort that drains out to the landscaping through a pipe.

Heck, even digging a drain ditch leading away from the shower and house would improve things.

Yes, amystef's suggestion is a good one - should help you for next summer.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.
to answer a few questions...the area of the outdoor shower area is not sloped and there is no drain at this time. Most of the water does get absorbed into the ground.
recently I did take up the slate and dug up some of the dirt and then added small stones and sand, then put the slate back down. Seem to be draining much better.
Next summer I may work on some sort of drain. Thanks again.