Summer fun:
Think kite flying and wave hopping.
Think sunsets with your sweetie.
Think wet sandy kids and dogs, but everyone had so much fun.
Think soft sand and grass-tufted dunes.
Now that you’ve got that vision, you can start planning…
Stay and play:
Grayland Beach State Park is a hit with the RV crowd, but it also has 16 yurts, including 10 ADA-accessible yurts, and standard campsites only a dune’s walk away from the ocean. So, grab your picnic, pull up a piece of driftwood and relax.
Twin Harbors State Park five miles north of Grayland offers tent and RV sites and two yurts. Overnight accommodations include five rustic cabins. (One is ADA and four are pet friendly.) The woodsy campground has a social atmosphere and a short trail to the beach.
Side trips or day trips:
Westport Light State Park: Surf’s up and Westport is a destination for cold water surfing. If you don’t surf, just meander through beach grasses and dunes, and watch surfers catch a wave. Don’t miss the Grays Harbor Lighthouse a block away. Climb – or let the kids climb - the spiral staircase to the tallest lighthouse in Washington.
Bottle Beach State Park: Walk on an ADA trail through a coastal wetland. Bring binoculars, because Bottle Beach is an official Washington state birding trail. A million migratory birds and 130 species of local birds, including raptors alight here. During low tide, remnants of a late 19th Century dock are visible. The dock was part of Ocosta by the Sea, an early 20th Century boomtown that has mostly disappeared.
Winter storms:
The south beaches stay open in all but the nastiest storms. So, bring out your beach blanket and watch the clouds roll in. Then make a run for your cozy yurt, cabin or RV, snuggle up with games and hot beverages, and fall asleep to rain tapping on the roof and thunder in the distance.
Have a Beach Friendly Fourth
For many west coasters, July Fourth is synonymous with Beach. Washington’s ocean beaches welcome visitors and remind them to follow laws regarding fireworks hours and areas, beach camping (prohibited) and bonfires (100 feet from dunes and vegetation).
Additionally, while driving on the beach can be fun, wet sand and incoming tides trap vehicles, and rescues are not guaranteed.
This year, high tide is at 2 a.m. July 5, so staff and volunteers won’t have time to collect garbage after the festivities, before it is washed out to sea. Extra dumpsters will be provided, so please do your part to minimize pollution of our oceans!
More information:
https://parks.state.wa.us/479/Bottle-Beach
https://parks.state.wa.us/515/Grayland-Beach
https://parks.state.wa.us/292/Twin-Harbors
https://parks.state.wa.us/284/Westport-Light
