Grays Harbor Vacation & Travel Destination Information
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Grays Harbor, Washington
Grays Harbor County contains two
spectacular vacation destinations reached in a 2-3 hour drive from
Seattle: the nearest ocean beaches and beautiful Lake Quinault.
GRAYS HARBOR OCEAN BEACHES
The county boasts over 50 miles of sandy beaches. Some
activities are permitted on these beaches that are not allowed
further north in the national park: you may bring your dog on the
beach, evening bonfires are allowed (150 feet away from any dune
grass), and you may drive on the hard sand at the top of the beach
in designated areas. Razor clam digging is allowed on limited
dates designated by the Department of Ecology.
From south to north, here are the
highlights of Grays Harbor beaches:
Grays Harbor Lighthouse
Completed in 1898, this lighthouse is the tallest in Washington
State.
Westhaven State Park
The broad sandy beach, crumbling sand cliffs, and huge rocks of the
South Jetty gives lots of possibilities for play. This
park is the center of ocean surfing in the county.
Town of Westport
At the large marina, ocean fishing, whalewatching, and seabird
viewing charters may be hired. A three storey viewing tower at
the north end of town gives views of the marina, harbor, the South
Jetty, and across to Ocean Shores.
Town of Ocean Shores
This is the largest resort town along the coast, filling up an 8
mile long peninsula. The highlights of the peninsula are Damon
Point State Park for the harbor view 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, horse rentals 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 off the town of Copalis Beach. You have cross
a stream on foot, which keeps the cars and crowds away. To the
north down the Roosevelt Beach Road, you can drive onto the beach
and reach two sights: 1.) Copalis Rock, an isolated seastack rock
with a flock of seagulls nesting on top and 2.) Copalis State
Airport, where planes land right on the sand - the only airport like
it in the lower 48 states.
Highway 109
From Copalis Beach north the highway climbs up a bluff and winds
through a beautiful, windswept forest with occasional peaks of the
ocean. Along this route lie the towns of Seabrook, Pacific
Beach, and Moclips. Seabrook is a brand-new, purpose-built
vacation resort town with beautiful architecture. The town
puts on community events open to visitors. Pacific Beach has
kept a small retail core (groceries, gas, kites, coffee shop,
restaurant, boutiques, and novelty antique store) and features
Pacific Beach State Park with its campground, grassy dunes, and
large creek disecting the beach. Moclips has the Museum of the
North Beach, documenting the area's history as a beach resort back
to the early 1900's.
Quinault Indian Nation
Highway 109 ends at Taholah, the main town of the Quinaults. A
seafood processing plant is found here, where you can buy the unique
blueback salmon of the Quinault River. At the administrative
building you can buy a day pass to enjoy the tribal beaches. These include the rocky beach off of Taholah, where you can see the
mouth of the Quinault River, the seastack rocks of Cape Elizabeth,
and gigantic driftwood logs along the beach from fallen 200+ foot
high spruce trees. At the south end of the reservation is the
undiscovered gem of the coast, Point Grenville, with its collection
of seastack rocks, hidden volcanic beach over a six foot rock wall,
and offshore reef of volcanic rocks. These are the only
volcanic rocks for hundreds of miles around.
Wildlife
I've seen lots of wildlife along this coast: a flock of pelicans
flying about the Westport South Jetty, deer all around Ocean Shores,
blue heron on Duck Lake, the cutest white mottled baby seal at Damon
Point State Park, eagles along the cliffs between Copalis and
Pacific Beach, and flocks of seagulls and sandpipers up and down the
coast.
Lake Quinault
Lake Quinault lies within the southwest bounday of the Olympic
National Park. Spend your first full day here by driving the
loop around the lake and up into the upper Quinault river valley
that is formed by the North Shore Road, South Shore Road, and
Highway 101. Along this route you will find many attractions.
Lake Quinault History
The historic Lake Quinault Lodge was built in 1926 in an astonishing
53 days. It replaced the 1880's Log Hotel that had burned down
two years before. The lodge features 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 lake trail, fire pit, and boat
rentals are found at the lakeside.
Along the North Shore Road, the park
service is restoring the early 1900's Kestner Homestead. A 3/4
mile loop trail takes you through a beautiful forest and opens out
into the fields of the former farm. A delapidated delivery
truck rusting in a field and filled with vines is one of the more
charming sights.
Rain Forests
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 rain forest is found on the
Kestner Homestead or "Maple Glade" trail mentioned above.
This forest is also heavily moss laden, but the trees are primarily
tall, big-leaf maples.
Ancient Trees
The Quinault area features six record-breaking trees of separate
species. Two of the most accessible are the Quinault Big Cedar
- a half mile hike from the North Shore Road and the Big Spruce just
off the South Shore Road near Highway 101. The Big Cedar looks
more like a ruin than a tree. It is scarcely alive - with just
a few green branches high overhead. At ground level the tree
is all rotted out and hollow. You can stand inside it, look
up, and see daylight hundreds of feet overhead.
Mountain Views
Much of your view of the Olympics in this area is blocked by the
tall trees and nearby hills, but the higher peaks can be viewed in a
few places: 1.) from Highway 101 at the west end of the lake where
there is currently a clearcut, a fine view of the lake and the
mountains beyond can be had; 2.) you can drive 10 miles on
well-maintained dirt roads up to Higley Peak - many views of the
snowy peaks can be seen along this road; and 3.) from the South
Shore Road up in the river valley you can see some higher mountains.
For more information and
photos of Grays Harbor,
please visit Grays
Harbor County, Washington.
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