Grays Harbor Ocean Beaches

The county has more than 50 miles of sandy beaches. Some activities are allowed on these beaches that are not allowed further north in the national park: you can bring your dog to the beach, campfires are allowed at night (150 feet away from dune grass), and you can drive on the hard sand at the top of the beach in designated areas. Razor clam digging is permitted on limited dates designated by the Department of Ecology. From south to north, these are the highlights of Grays Harbor’s beaches:

Grays Harbor Lighthouse

Completed in 1898, this lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Washington state.

Westhaven State Park

The wide sandy beach, crumbling sand cliffs and huge boulders of the South Jetty provide plenty of scope for play. This park is the center of ocean surfing in the county.

Town of Westport in Grays Harbor

At the large marina, excursions can be hired for ocean fishing, whale watching, and sea bird watching. A three-story observation tower on the northern edge of town offers views of the marina, harbor, South Jetty, and Ocean Shores.

City of Ocean Shores in Grays Harbor

This is the largest resort town along the coast, filling a peninsula 8 miles long. The highlights of the peninsula are Damon Point State Park for harbor views and wildlife, the North Jetty where the big ocean waves roll in, the canals, and Duck Lake where you can rent an electric party boat, horses on the beach and the Indian Casino at the Quinault Beach Resort.Copalis Beach.

If you want an ocean beach all to yourself, try Griffiths-Priday Ocean State Park in the town of Copalis Beach. You have to cross a stream on foot, which keeps cars and crowds away. Heading north on Roosevelt Beach Road, you can drive to the beach and reach two points of interest: 1.) Copalis Rock, an isolated rock with a flock of seagulls nesting on top, and 2.) Copalis State Airport, where the planes land right on the sand – the only airport like it in the lower 48 states.

highway 109

From Copalis Beach north, the road climbs a cliff and winds through a beautiful windswept forest with occasional spikes from the ocean. Along this route it joins the towns of Seabrook, Pacific Beach and Moclips. Seabrook is a new purpose-built vacation town with beautiful architecture. The city hosts community events open to visitors. Pacific Beach has maintained a small retail core (groceries, gas, kites, cafe, restaurant, boutiques, and a novelty antique shop) and features Pacific Beach State Park with its campground, grassy dunes, and a large creek bisecting the beach . Moclips has the North Beach Museum, which documents the area’s history as a seaside resort since the early 1900s.

Quinault Indian Nation

Highway 109 ends in Taholah, the main town of the Quinaults. A seafood processing plant is located here, where you can buy the unique Quinault River blueback salmon. In the administration building you can buy a day pass to enjoy the tribal beaches. These include the rocky beach in front of Taholah, where you can see the mouth of the Quinault River, the rocks of the Cape Elizabeth sea stacks, and giant driftwood logs along the beach of fallen spruce trees over 200 feet long. height. At the southern end of the reserve is the undiscovered gem of the coastline, Point Grenville, with its collection of sea stack rocks, a volcanic beach hidden atop a six-foot rock wall, and a high-rising volcanic rock reef. sea. These are the only volcanic rocks for hundreds of kilometers around.

Grays Harbor Wildlife

An abundance of wildlife can be found along this coastline, including: a flock of pelicans flying over the Westport South Jetty, deer throughout Ocean Shores, blue herons at Duck Lake, the largest white-spotted seal pup adjoins Damon Point State Park, eagles along the bluffs between Copalis and Pacific Beach, and flocks of seagulls and shorebirds up and down the shoreline.

Grays Harbor Lake Quinault

Lake Quinault is located within the southwestern boundary of Olympic National Park. Spend your first full day here driving the loop around the lake and into the upper Quinault River Valley that is made up of North Shore Road, South Shore Road and Highway 101. Along this route you will find many attractions.

History of Lake Quinault

The historic Lake Quinault Lodge was built in 1926 in a staggering 53 days. It replaced the 1880 Log Hotel that had burned down two years earlier. The lodge has an excellent restaurant, the Roosevelt Room, named for President Theodore Roosevelt, who visited in 1937. From the wide grassy lawn, you can enjoy a spectacular view of the lake. A lakeside trail, fire pit and boat rentals are located on the lake’s edge. Along North Shore Road, the park service is restoring the early 20th-century Kestner Homestead. A 3/4 mile loop trail takes you through beautiful woods and opens up to the fields of the old farm. A dilapidated delivery truck rusting in a field and overgrown with vines is one of the most enchanting sights.

Rainforests of Grays Harbor

Near the Lake Quinault Lodge is the 1/2-mile Lake Forest Loop trail, which winds through a mossy forest of spruce, Douglas fir, and cedar trees. An entirely different rainforest is found on the aforementioned Kestner Homestead or “Maple Glade” trail. This forest is also heavily laden with moss, but the trees are mostly tall, big-leaved maples.

Ancient trees in Grays Harbor

The Quinault area features six separate species record trees. Two of the most accessible are Quinault Big Cedar: a half-mile walk from North Shore Road, and Big Spruce, just off South Shore Road near Highway 101. Big Cedar looks more like a ruin than a tree. It is barely alive, with only a few green branches at the top. At ground level, the tree is all rotten and hollow. You can stand inside, look up and see daylight hundreds of feet up.

Mountain Views at Grays Harbor

Much of your view of the Olympics in this area is blocked by tall trees and nearby hills, but the highest peaks can be seen in a few places: 1.) from Highway 101 at the west end of the lake where currently there is a clear opening in the trees from which you can have a beautiful view of the lake and the mountains beyond; 2.) you can drive 10 miles on well-maintained dirt roads to Higley Peak; many views of snow-capped peaks can be seen along this trail; and 3.) from South Shore Road in the river valley, you can see some higher mountains.