Long Beach Peninsula

I'm going to start this lens with Downtown Long Beach. When you arrive in Seaview from Highway 101 bypass, turn north. Go for 1.74 miles and you will find yourself in downtown Long Beach.

Long Beach is our central visitor hub, and where most families go to have fun. Before visiting Long Beach, be sure and visit the Long Beach Visitors Bureau, or LBVB. They have a HUGE amount of visitor information, including pamphlets, maps, tide tables, coupons and events schedules. They can tell you just about anything you want to know.The LBVB is open 7 days a week. Or you can go to funbeach.com and look up a lot of the information yourself. Be sure and check out the photo contest page . There are some awesome photos. Also, don't forget to view the Event Calendar. We have events all summer long.



Things to do in the downtown area include shopping, video games, carnival rides (summer only), restaurants and people-watching. This is an awesome place for families. There is a go-cart track with a small track for smaller children. You can take the family horse-back riding on the beach, walk on the Boardwalk, or ride your bike(s) on Discovery Trail. Don't forget to go say "Hi" to Jake the Alligator Man at Marsh's Free Museum.

Long Beach has a huge calendar of events. Sandsations is a weekend of sand sculptures. The Long Beach Kite Festival is our biggest event, and lasts the entire week. Adults enjoy the Water Music Festival in the fall. Fall is also the time for the Wild Mushroom Festival. Mushrooming is something that Peninsula locals do, and most of the higher-end restaurants feature these mushrooms on their menu.

Please check out my more in-depth lens on Long Beach for things to do, places to stay, and places to eat.

When coming into Seaview from Highway 101 bypass, turn south; after 1.6 miles you will end up in downtown Ilwaco. Keep going south through town to the Port of Ilwaco. The Port overlooks Baker Bay, which leads to the Columbia River Bar, the most treacherous bar in the world.



Besides being a beautiful place to take a stroll, Ilwaco has several restaurants, galleries, a bookstore, and charter-fishing. If you want to dine with a view of the harbor, there are many restaurants that overlook the fishing boats. I have found that the harbor is a great place to take photographs. Ilwaco has a Saturday market in the summer, featuring work from local artists and other great items to see and buy.

Please check out my more in-depth lens about Ilwaco as soon as it is published.

Also known as Fort Canby, this has to be the most beautiful spot on the Peninsula. With two lighthouses, historic military bunkers every where you turn, walking trails and a ton of wildlife, you can easily spend a couple of days exploring here. There is a huge campground with RV spaces, tent camping and yurts that you can rent. The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center gives a complete history on the area, including information on the native American tribes that lived along the Columbia River (and still do). The main room of the Interpretive Center gives an awesome view of the mouth of the Columbia River, sheltered from the wind and weather. Below the Interpretive Center is a bunker with lights that you can explore.



My favorite thing to do is find a pretty spot and just sit, or take photographs, and the best spot for this is Waikiki Beach, below the Cape "D" Lighthouse. The other place is the boat launch. There is a boardwalk there and a nice bench on which to sit and watch the boats, eagles and herons. You know what? I almost forgot Benson Beach. The sand is black there, there is an endless amount of driftwood on the beach to photograph, and it is watched over by our other lighthouse, North Head. The beach slopes sharply down toward the water, which makes for some very impressive wave-watching.

For an impressive view up-and-down the Peninsula, stop by North Head Lighthouse. It is a place to watch for whales (which migrate in October and March), just view the coastline, or walk the trails. If you view the next bluff to the north, you can see a historic military lookout peeking out of the trees.

For more information, please visit my more in-depth lens on Cape Disappointment when it is published. The link will be right here.

Ocean Park is the only place where you can walk from the Pacific Ocean to Willapa Bay in about 15 minutes. Ocean Park has several restaurants, a coffee shop, a bookstore, a gift shop, and a yarn shop. The biggest landmark in Ocean Park is Jack's Country Store. This is a general store/merchantile. They have groceries, hardware, sporting goods, vintage toys and candy... floor-to-ceiling stuff to look at. Pay attention, because there are interesting things all over the place! If you have a motel room with a kitchenette, this place has beautiful meat and very fresh fish.

On the beach approach is Full Circle Cafe and Tapestry Rose Yarn Shop. Full Circle Cafe has very limited seating, but the food is pretty good. The thing that stands out for me is their "burnt cream", or creme brulee. It's REALLY GOOOOOOD!!!! The Tapestry Rose Yarn Shop not only has yarn made of every fiber known to man, but also has a lot of neat projects on display. Even if you are not into hand-crafts, this is an impressive place to visit.

Nahcotta has two Bed and Breakfasts, the Port of Nahcotta, a small Interpretive Center, a Historic Post Office and a Bakery. Ye Old Clamshell Railroad ended here (or began here, depending on your perspective). Nahcotta is walking-distance from Ocean Park, where you can shop or have lunch. There is a new walking path that connects the bay and the ocean.


This photo was taken at Jolly Roger Oysters, at the Port of Nahcotta.

Oysterville has an interesting history. Oysterville was the county seat until raiders from South Bend came and took all the records. Many of the old homes are still there today, and have been beautifully restored and landscaped. You can drive (or walk) through old, downtown Oysterville, buy Oysters and other seafood at the Oysterville Market, and buy gifts at the Oysterville Store. Next door to the Oysterville Store is the Oysterville Post Office, about the size of a closet and complete with the old, original post office boxes.



The above photo proves that there is always something to do, no matter the weather. This little hut was built by some teenage boys at the Oysterville Beach Approach on a day that was cloudy, windy and cold. The next day it was beautiful out. They went skim-boarding and stored their stuff in the hut while they played. Another great place to make driftwood structures is Waikiki Beach at Cape Disappointment.

For more information, please visit my more in-depth lens on Oysterville

Drive very slowly down Stackpole Road and you might see a bear. Or a porcupine. Or a coyote. Or a deer. Or an otter. Or any one of a number of other animals. Although I've never seen one, I have seen evidence of elk, and I know by their footprints, they are HUGE! I don't know how they stay invisible. Keep an eye on your rear-view mirror, because the bears often cross the road behind the car after it has passed. Don't worry about bear encounters. The bears are very shy and will run the other way if they see you. There are many trails to walk at Ledbetter point, and if you are quiet you will see birds of all varieties and many different other kinds of wildlife. The Long Beach Peninsula is in a migratory bird path, so it is a birder's paradise. Bring a camera with a long, fast lens and keep it ready! And don't forget the mosquito repellent, because these little vermin will suck you dry.



If you want to see wildlife, you have to slow down and pay attention to your surroundings. My husband and I would not have seen this beaver if we had not stopped and observed the seemingly uneventful pond for a moment.

Please take care and drive safely on the north end of the Peninsula. We have a wonderful variety of animals that are ALWAYS crossing the road. Be especially careful with deer. If you see a doe cross the road, expect a fawn or two to follow. Also, deer are REALLY stupid. You could pass one grazing in a yard, and they will spook and jump in front of you unexpectedly. Bears have a talent for just "appearing" out of no-where.

There are lots of winter activities as well as summer activities at the beach. For one, the beach combing is better in the winter. You can find spiral seashells and baby sand dollars (I am talking pinky nail sized!) laying on the beach at low tide on some occasions. The wave watching is better, and there are several places that are great to do that. Storm watching is enjoyable, especially if you are staying at a place with a fireplace. I love going to sleep while listening to the wind and the rain pounding on the roof. Crab season begins in the winter, and the crabs are really fresh and sweet then. Most Clamming is done in winter. There are museums, stores, restaurants and arcades. Sunsets are better in the in the winter; you see colors you just don't see in the summer. Some of the best photographs are taken in adverse weather conditions. I will go more in depth on winter activities in my other lenses.



I was hiking up McKenzie Trail at Cape Disappointment with my dog when it suddenly started to downpour. We waited in this bunker for it to stop raining. This bunker goes all the way through the hillside and has three outlets, so it was light enough to see inside without a flashlight. There are bunkers like this all over Cape Disappointment and scattered over the Peninsula. When it stopped raining, I had a view of a beautiful rainbow over the ocean and the tree dripping in the water-filled gun-turret pit made for some interesting photos. So you see, you can always find something to do no matter what the weather.

Thanks for stopping by my lens. Please return frequently for updated information and have a nice day!