‘World’s Longest Beach’ is a major attraction on Long Beach Peninsula

Long Beach Peninsula
The “World’s Longest Beach” is a beautiful spot for walking, clamming and other activities.

Washington’s Pacific Coast isn’t designed for swimming. Let’s get that out of the way right away. The water tends to be cold, as it travels southward from Alaska. Temperatures average about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Pacific Ocean’s current is strong. There are rip tides. People can step in deep holes dug by crabs, up to 10 feet deep. Not good news.

So, then, what does one do for fun at the beach? In Long Beach, you take advantage of the beach. The peninsula has one of the longest beaches in the United States. Long Beach is marketed as the world’s longest beach at 28 miles.

Surfers take on the temps and the waves near Dead Man’s Cove. Milder beach goers take on the waves via far, far away. Razor clam hunting is a popular excursion. People comb the beach looking for the clam’s special mound markings. Once they find them, the hunters use special tools to dig holes to capture the clams. Each person is allowed 15 razor clams a day. During our visit, we saw a couple hundred people on the beach searching the lams.

Long Beach Peninsula
Hundreds of people gather along Long Beach to hunt for razor clams.

Kite flying is popular at Long Beach. The beach is home to the annual International kite festival each August. Thousands of people flock to the Long beach peninsula to take in the festival.

Long Beach Peninsula
Long Beach is the perfect spot for kite flying.

Then, there’s the old-fashioned walking along the beach, taking in the sights and sounds. The waves come crashing on to the beach. People aren’t alone in their beach walks. Gulls will stroll along the beach, often at the water’s edge, taking in the view…for food.

Long Beach Peninsula
Gulls wait near the water for dining opportunities.

Long Beach has a boardwalk that stretches for about a quarter of a mile. You can walk along it, a paved trail nearby or the beach itself. We did a bit of everything. The boardwalk rises above the beach, so you can get a nice view of the Pacific Ocean, beach and dunes next to the walk.

The Boardwalk offers exits along the way, to give people access to the beach and sand dunes. You can also see a partial skeleton from a whale that washed ashore years ago. A wood sculpture of gray whales is located next to the skeleton.

Long Beach Peninsula
Walking trails along Long Beach showcase attractions, such as whale bones near a wooden sculpture.

Walking along the paved trail, south of the boardwalk, you’ll view a sculpture of Capt. William Clark of Lewis and Clark expedition fame. He is standing next to a larger than life sturgeon that the explorer apparently came upon along Long Beach.

Long Beach Peninsula
Lewis and Clark spent time near Long Beach during their expedition in the early 1800s.

We lucked out and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon walking along the beach. Lisa found a clam shell. I thought she was going to get swept out to sea when she tried to clean it. It was a “unique” method to cleaning the sand off the shell. She approached the water’s edge, screamed like a little girl and dropped the shell into the water. As the tide, retreated, she picked up the shell, again with fresh sand on it, and repeated the effort about two or three more times. Finally, she came away with a cleaned shell.

Long Beach Peninsula
Lisa was determined to clean the sand off a clam shell.

Along the northern edge of where we were at, you can catch a glimpse of the North Head lighthouse. Around the cliffs is Cape Disappointment State Park and Dead Man’s Cove.

Long Beach Peninsula
Walking along the beach gives people a chance to see attractions, such as the North Head lighthouse in the distance.

However, you take advantage of your visit to Long Beach, you’ll enjoy spending time on the beach. We visited the beach three times during our visit. We encourage you to visit Long Beach and enjoy the views a stroll along the beach’s sand can bring.

For more information on Long Beach, please visit www.funbeach.com.