Grays Harbor Escape
Unwind on Washington's spectacular Pacific Coast
If you love walking for miles on almost deserted beaches, building sandcastles and then defending them as the tide comes in, watching the sun set over the ocean, and just taking time to catch your breath and step away from the hustle and bustle of life, there is no better place than Grays Harbor County on the Washington Coast.
Beach near Seabrook. Photo: Seabrook Resort
My personal favorite destination on the Washington Coast is Seabrook Resort, near Pacific Beach. This vibrant beach town, an example of new urbanism design, sits on a scenic bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Enjoy the indoor pool and hot tub (as the ocean is too cold to do much swimming), walk the paths through the well-designed neighborhoods, make smores at one of the many community fire pits, play at the park, or dine and shop in the village. When our children were younger, we would stay at Seabrook with friends and even grandparents, enjoy the company in our rental home, and the privacy of our rooms. The kids loved biking, swimming, playing at the beach, and exploring the community. Even if you are not staying at Seabrook, you can use the community paths to get down to the beach or enjoy the network of mountain bike trails that cross from the resort to nearby DNR land.
There are many other camping and lodging options where you can stay while you explore the area. You can stay at one of the many hotels in Ocean Shores or at one of the two State Park campgrounds, Ocean City and Pacific Beach.
If you want to enjoy the beach, there are many access points all the way along the shoreline. My personal favorite is to walk out along Damon Point, a spit of land that extends over two miles from the southeast corner of the county. You can build sandcastles and play in the waves or walk out to the end of the spit. I have never made it out to the tip; the last time I was there, my kids and their friends were elementary school age and wanted to build sand castles, bury themselves in the sand, collect shells, and chase the waves, so I enjoyed the sun and sand with the kids while my husband and a friend had the rare treat of observing a snowy white owl at the end of the point.
If you are feeling adventurous, Grays Harbor offers surfing, mountain bikeing, horse riding, sea kayaking, and even boating on the canals that run through Ocean Shores. You can rent surfboards and get lessons and advice at North Coast Surf Shop in Ocean Shores or stop by Buck’s NorthWest in Seabrook or Pacific Beach where you can rent the equipment you need, get advice, get lessons to learn how to surf or mountain bike, and even book a tour. For a truly unique experience, let them take you on a kayak tour of the Ghost Forest of the Copalis River. What caused all of the trees in this area to die, leaving a ghostly forest of gray poles, had long been a mystery. Scientists eventually dated the event using tree rings and realized that the forest died in 1700, the same year as Japanese historians reported a ghost tsunami, a wave that struck the Japanese coast with no earthquake. This information, paired with Native American accounts of a massive wave that hit the coast and other geological markers, formed the basis of our understanding of the last major quake on the Cascadia Fault, just offshore. This 9.0 earthquake on the Cascadia Fault caused the land to drop 6 feet, submerging the roots of the trees in salt water and killing them all at once.
Take a day during your stay to head up to the rainforest. Lake Quinault is just over 30 miles from Seabrook but a different world. This temperate rainforest gets between 140” of rain per year in the lowlands up to 200” in the higher elevations. Learn more about the rainforest and get a bite to eat at Lake Quinault Lodge, walk one of the many trails through the rainforest, or take a boat out onto the lake. The lodge offers guided boat tours, boat and paddle board rentals, and guided driving tours. If you are going for a hike, be careful not to slip on the wet mossy ground and rocks (I am speaking from personal experience) and keep your eyes out for Sasquatch.
Although Grays Harbor County does not have any large urban areas, you can find fun souvenirs and supplies at stores in Ocean Shores or Seabrook. If you want to rent a bike, surfboard, kayak, and other equipment, or are looking for guided adventures, talk to the folks at Buck’s NW, with locations at Seabrook and Pacific Beach. Seabrook has several great dining options, including Frontager’s Pizza Company, Koko’s Restaurant and Tequila Bar, and the Vista Bakeshop. If you want to get something to eat in Ocean Shores, you can find everything from fish shacks to sit down places including the one I enjoyed last time I was there, Galway Bay Irish Pub.
