Point Brown, Ocean Shores WA experts

[Laurie]

Please tell me about unit Pennsylvania-3-South if you can...

And, how do you like this location for covering western half of Olympic NP and whatever parts of the WA coast are most dramatic?

We've never been to OR or WA western Pacific coastlines, tho we've been to Seattle area, Victoria, Sooke, and upcoast from there, San Juan islands, and Pacific Rim NP on Vancouver Island. We did get to eastern half of Olympic NP from Blue Heron TS in Union WA, but the western half was out-of-reach for daytrips...

Do you think Ocean Shores and coastal WA is worth traveling 3000 miles cross-continent, from beautiful NC beaches? We like beach walking, hiking, sightseeing, photography, etc.; we wouldn't be travelling this far to lay on the beach a lot.

Thanks for advice and opinions!

 

[DaveNV]

Laurie, the easier-to-reach Pacific Coast beaches in Washington are a lot like the Outer Banks beaches in NC. Broad stretches of sand, often deserted, and strong enough to drive a car on. But some parts of the coast are rugged, boulder-strewn, rocky shoreline, with no sand to be found. The ocean here can be wild and stormy, depending on the time of year you're visiting, and swimming can be tricky to downright dangerous.

The area north of Ocean Shores tends to be a varied, rocky coastline. Google Maps says it's about a three and a half hour drive to Neah Bay, which is out on the northwestern point of the peninsula. The area is forested, and much of the road runs inland, far away from the coast. If you have any Twilight fans in your house, the town of Forks, Washington, isn't that far from Neah Bay.

The area south of Ocean Shores is mostly sandy beaches, and after taking the winding road down to Long Beach peninsula, you'll experience some outstanding beach-town recreation. Further south of Long Beach is Cape Disappointment, where Lewis and Clark wintered over, waiting for the rain to quit.

A short drive south from there takes you over the Astoria Bridge into Oregon, where you can work your way down the coast. It's all amazing scenery, and worth seeing.

Is it better than where you are? Depends on whether you like watching the sun rise out of the ocean, or watching it set into the ocean. Beyond that, the experience right along the coast isn't all that much different. They're both great.

So yeah, come on out and visit. It's a great way to spend some time.

Dave

 

[MommaBear]

I went from the coast of Maine to spend a week in Ocean Shores last fall. I really enjoyed the scenery and the area. It was worth the trip, for sure! Even in September the weather was cool and damp, but the vistas were wonderful, the forests impressive and the views surprisingly different than those I see every day. There were lots of opportunities to walk along the shore and many photo ops.

 

[LLW]

Please tell me about unit Pennsylvania-3-South if you can...

And, how do you like this location for covering western half of Olympic NP and whatever parts of the WA coast are most dramatic?

We've never been to OR or WA western Pacific coastlines, tho we've been to Seattle area, Victoria, Sooke, and upcoast from there, San Juan islands, and Pacific Rim NP on Vancouver Island. We did get to eastern half of Olympic NP from Blue Heron TS in Union WA, but the western half was out-of-reach for daytrips...

Do you think Ocean Shores and coastal WA is worth traveling 3000 miles cross-continent, from beautiful NC beaches? We like beach walking, hiking, sightseeing, photography, etc.; we wouldn't be travelling this far to lay on the beach a lot.

Thanks for advice and opinions!

Point Brown is just a few doors from Worldmark Ocean Shores. There's a bunch of activities info on wmowners.com on Ocean Shores
http://www.wmowners.com/worldmark/resorts/infodetail/OCNSHR#0
that I think you might like.

I have never been to a NC beach. But I have been to Hilton Head and Daytona Beach, and I think Ocean Shores is no less than those. However, I think the Oregon Coast, especially Cannon Beach, would be worth a day trip from Ocean Shores, since you are coming 3,000 miles, even though it would take about 2 1/2 hours. Astoria and/or Seaside would be good stopping points. The Oregon Coast is just gorgeous.

But you don't usually get to lie on the beach in the Pacific NW - a warm and dry day is rare here, especially on the Coast.

 

[sue1947]

I've used Ocean Shores as a base for the SW portion of Olympic National Park. Lake Quinault and the Quinault rain forest is about 45 min-1hr away. Continue another half an hour along Hwy 101 to Kalaloch for a sandy beach and Ruby Beach (just north) for a more rugged beach with sea stacks. These are in the National Park. Ocean Shores is more sand dunes and more crowded and driving on the beach is allowed. The best beach section of the National Park is north out of Forks. Rialto Beach has great tide pools and the hikes into Third Beach and Second Beach near La Push are fantastic; closer to Pacific Rim in scenery. These latter are the really wild beaches. In general, north of the Quinault, the beaches are more rugged and south from Ocean Shores to Seaside, OR is more sand dunes.

The La Push/Forks area is too far to be a reasonable day trip from Ocean Shores. You might add a couple of days at a motel in Forks or try the old, but comfortable cabins at the Three Rivers Resort on the road from Forks to La Push. There are also fabulous beaches at Sand Point to Cape Alava (out of Lake Ozette) and Shi Shi Beach but both of these are pretty remote and you'd probably need to camp.

The Oregon Coast is not as remote with more development and Highway 101 fairly close to the ocean for much of the way. Cannon Beach is a beautiful beach, but crowded with tourists down from Portland; not a wilderness experience. For the same amount of driving (3 hours each way), you could head north and see more of the Olympic National Park.

Sue

 

[Laurie]

I've used Ocean Shores as a base for the SW portion of Olympic National Park. Lake Quinault and the Quinault rain forest is about 45 min-1hr away. Continue another half an hour along Hwy 101 to Kalaloch for a sandy beach and Ruby Beach (just north) for a more rugged beach with sea stacks. These are in the National Park. Ocean Shores is more sand dunes and more crowded and driving on the beach is allowed. The best beach section of the National Park is north out of Forks. Rialto Beach has great tide pools and the hikes into Third Beach and Second Beach near La Push are fantastic; closer to Pacific Rim in scenery. These latter are the really wild beaches. In general, north of the Quinault, the beaches are more rugged and south from Ocean Shores to Seaside, OR is more sand dunes.

The La Push/Forks area is too far to be a reasonable day trip from Ocean Shores. You might add a couple of days at a motel in Forks or try the old, but comfortable cabins at the Three Rivers Resort on the road from Forks to La Push. There are also fabulous beaches at Sand Point to Cape Alava (out of Lake Ozette) and Shi Shi Beach but both of these are pretty remote and you'd probably need to camp.

Sue

Thanks to all for feedback & info!

Sue, this is especially what I wanted to know - since we have the flatter grassy beaches at home (with warm swimmable water!), we're mostly looking to explore the wild dramatic beaches, with sea stacks (a new vocabulary word for me).

We don't camp! Here's a place I found online that could work for a night or 2 - www.hobuckbeachresort.com/cabins.html
Would this work for seeing La Push beaches and Lake Ozette? I'm trying to remember - isn't there a good boardwalk trail on the beach somewhere? (which I was hoping to get to 2 years ago during our stay in Union, but it likewise was too far for a daytrip and we hadn't worked out any overnites, and we had plenty of good daytrips to take from that direction.)

Edited to add: a day driving south to some of the OR coast like Cannon Beach looks like something we'd probably do too - I've heard OR coast was pretty and have now googled, so good ideas there too.

 

[LLW]

I'm trying to remember - isn't there a good boardwalk trail on the beach somewhere?

There are nice beach boardwalk trails in Long Beach, WA, and Seaside, OR (by the new WM Long Beach, and the WM Seaside), both south of Ocean Shores and north of Cannon Beach.

 

[sue1947]

The Hobuck resort is a good option, but remote. It's been recently remodeled/built and I think it's right on the ocean. I looked into it for a trip to Cape Flattery and Shi Shi Beach and it would work for both of those. It's too long of a drive for the La Push section.
The beach portion of the Olympic National Park is a wild beach. The only boardwalk is a new trail that goes out to the tip of Cape Flattery (not in the NP) and it's only 3/4 of a mile long. There are also stretches of bridges/boardwalk to cross mud/boggy areas, but these get really slippery. In the south, near Kalaloch, the highway goes close to the beach and you can walk down to a sandy beach for easy access. The rest involve hikes on trails with mud and rocks etc to access the beach. Once there, you will have some sections of sand, but also sections of scrambling over slippery rocks. The tidepools are fantastic at low tide, but they also involve lots of wading across slippery rocks. If you hiked down to the beaches at Pacific Rim NP, expect more mud and less 'groomed'; at least the last time I was there, the bridges were new and the trails had lots of fresh maintenance and seemed in much better shape.

If you are up for getting your feet muddy, spend 3 nights at Hobucks and then move down to La Push and Forks for another 3-4 nights. The Three Rivers Resort is at the intersection of the road to La Push and the road to Mora, which is where Rialto Beach is. Spend one day on the hike to Third Beach or (for an easier option) Second Beach. Spend another day exploring tidepools at Rialto hiking north through Hole in the Rock possibly to the Chilean memorial. Check tide tables and book your trip for a time when you will have a mid-day minus tide. Then head south and spend your week at Ocean Shores with a stop at Ruby Beach for a short break on the way. From Ocean Shores, you can make a day trip to Quinault (possibly spend a night at the lodge there; one of the old National Park Lodges) or do the Rain Forest loop hikes across the street from the lodge (which makes a nice lunch break mid-hike). Ocean Shores has lots of sandy beaches for walking and relaxing. OR exchange into either Long Beach Washington (Surfside or Worldmark's Long Beach resorts) or one of the resorts on the Oregon Coast. Not as wild, but more rugged and less sand dunes than Ocean Shores. Ocean Shores is less populated but pretty similar to Hilton Head and other east coast areas while the Oregon Coast and northern WA coast would be different and closer to what you are looking for.

Sue