This August I was supposed to go camping in the North Cascades National Park right next to Diablo Lake at Colonial Creek South Campground. As some of you may know, getting a sought after campsite can be like getting concert tickets in which you have to get up at 6:55am and select the site you want and click add to cart and checkout at the right time in order to get the booking. It took me 7 attempts back in February to get one of two van accessible sites closest to the lake! Due to the Sourdough Fire that started on July 29th by a lightning strike, my camping reservation was canceled in mid-August as the area was evacuated and SR-20 highway was closed. Luckily there is this awesome PNW Campground Trading group on Facebook and I found a great replacement camping trip at Grayland Beach State Park in the Southwest part of Washington and a spot I haven’t explored yet.
I arrived in Grayland on Sunday August 13th in the late afternoon after a long, sweltering, 5 hour drive through some gridlock traffic during the historic heatwave that hit the Pacific Northwest. There was some relief in the heat along the Pacific Ocean, but it was still in the 70’s when I arrived to my campsite. I enjoyed a nice stroll to the sandy beach and put my legs in the cool ocean water, which felt good after sitting in the van for so long. I had hoped that the campsites were close to the ocean, but it’s actually a good 10-15 walk to get to the ocean-front. I watched the sun set into a bright orange glaze as there were no clouds to light up the sky any further. For those who wonder about the name, the town of Grayland and the state park were named for Captain Robert Gray, an American sea captain who “discovered” all the harbors now named for him, including nearby Grays Harbor.
Did you know that you can drive onto many of the beaches along the Pacific Ocean in Southern Washington State? I discovered this last year when I was visiting Seaview on the Long Beach Peninsula. There were quite a few cars on Grayland Beach while I was there, which reminded me that there are vehicle-friendly beaches in the area. Make sure you deflate your tires a bit if you’re in a van, or that you have 4WD/AWD, plus it can’t hurt to carry GoTreads or other traction boards in case you get stuck. Be sure to follow the WDFW rules so you avoid razor clams and snowy plovers when driving onto beaches!
During my stay, I went to check out Westport, the surfing capital of Washington and a cozy seaside town. I checked out the Westport Maritime Museum located in the historic Coast Guard station building that was built in 1939 and showcases exhibits on the maritime history of the South Beach. I particularly enjoyed their outdoor natural history exhibit that features sea mammal skeletons, including a large gray whale, a blue whale skull, sea lion, and harbor porpoise. There’s also a scale-model of the former Coast Guard station and lots of historical exhibits of shipwrecks, rescue operations, and the whaling and fishing industries. The biggest highlight is the magnificent Destruction Island Lens which was installed in the lighthouse in 1891 on Destruction Island (north of Westport near Kalaloch) and operated until 1995.
After exploring the museum, I headed to the waterfront to have a bite to eat and ended up enjoying a delicious sandwich at Westhaven Wines, a specialty wine bar and bottle shop located dockside in Westport's Marina District. I also enjoyed a red wine tasting with my meal and ended up buying two lovely bottles, a 2020 David Finlayson Cab and a 2019 Powers Syrah. Then I headed to Westport Light State Park to explore Half Moon Bay and Westhaven Beach. After enjoying the beach time and walking on the cliffs, I headed by the Grays Harbor Lighthouse, which was sadly closed so I only got to take some photos. One thing I planned to do but forgot about was to climb up the Westport Viewing Tower to see the 360* view.
My friend Aimee Danielson joined me for the second half of my camping stay at Grayland Beach State Park and we had a blast visiting the International Mermaid Museum and Westport Winery, so stay tuned for that post coming soon! I also recommend reading Aimee’s blog about the seaside town of Westport as she’s explored this area many times and has some great tips about clam digging. She’s an avid blogger and has a lot of experience traveling around the PNW, so I recommend following her adventures, plus you can download a FREE e-book on Washington State Parks!
One final note — Aimee and I ate brunch at Blue Buoy and absolutely loved their Eggs Benedict! If you’re ever in the area, we both highly recommend this friendly, family-owned restaurant.