Southwest Washington - Washington State - page 248

large lumber companies. Consequently
the forests of the Willapa Hills are
among the hardest working forests in
the region. Much of the region's forests
have already been cut twice since the
first settlers arrived in the area.
However, despite the lack of pub-
licly held or otherwise protected
forests, this coast still has its pockets
of wildness. The Willapa National
Wildlife Refuge and the Long Beach

Peninsula's Leadbetter Point together
host a vast number of bird species each
year. These areas, when combined
with the Grays Harbor National
Wildlife Refuge to the north, offer the
best bird-watching in the entire
Northwest. Sea kayakers also are
attracted to Willapa Bay, where the
paddle around Long Island is as
rewarding as any in the Puget Sound
or San Juan Islands.

1 The Central Coast: Ocean Shores to Willapa Bay
67 miles W of Olympia, 67 miles S of Lake Quinault, 92 miles N of Long Beach
Washington's central coast, consisting of the North and South Beach areas and
the Grays Harbor towns of Aberdeen and Hoquiam, is something of an anom-
aly. Though far from being the most scenic stretch of Washington coast, it con-
tains the state's most popular beach destination, Ocean Shores, a modern beach
development that now consists of numerous oceanfront hotels and hundreds of
vacation homes. Although not as scenic as the Olympic Peninsula coastline, this
area is popular for its easy access to the cities of Puget Sound, and, because Ocean
Shores is less than an hour east of Olympia, it is a popular weekend vacation spot.
The most scenic stretch of this coastline is the area known as North Beach,
which consists of the beach north of the mouth of Grays Harbor. The farther
north you go on this stretch of coast the more spectacular is the scenery, even
rivaling the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula's shoreline in some places. The
South Beach area, so named because it occupies the south side of Grays Harbor,
is an 18-mile stretch of flat beach that is bordered on the south by Willapa Bay.
At the north end of South Beach is the town of Westport, Washington's busiest
sportfishing and whale-watching port. Across the mouth of Willapa Bay from
the South Beach area lies the northern tip of the Long Beach Peninsula.
Separating North Beach and South Beach is the large bay known as Grays
Harbor, on whose shores are the two lumber-mill towns of Aberdeen and
Hoquiam. These towns were once some of the most prosperous in the state, as
attested to by each town's stately Victorian mansions and imposing commercial
buildings. Unfortunately, these towns have yet to benefit from the prosperity
that has overtaken the Puget Sound region, and historic commercial buildings
stand empty and abandoned. Still, there is history to be seen in these towns,
though it is for the beaches, the fishing, and the clamming that most people visit
this region.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE U.S. 12 and Wash. 8 together connect Aberdeen with
Olympia to the east, while U.S. 101 connects Aberdeen with Forks and Port
Angeles to the north and Long Beach and Astoria to the south. Ocean Shores
and the North Beach area are 20 miles west of Aberdeen on Wash. 109. The
South Beach area is 20 miles west of Aberdeen on Wash. 105.
VISITOR INFORMATION For more information on this area, contact
Tourism Grays Harbor, P.O. Box 225, Aberdeen, WA 98520 ( & 800/621-
9625; www.graysharbortourism.com); Ocean Shores Visitor Information