Olympic Peninsula & Washington Coast - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 289

Oysterville is filled with well-preserved Victorian homes including the 1863 Red Cot-
tage (Territory Rd) near Clay St, which served as the first Pacific County courthouse, and
the Big Red House (cnr Division St & Territory Rd) , the original home of Oysterville
cofounder RH Espy, built in 1871. Other historic buildings include a one-room school-
house and the 1892 Oysterville Church (cnr Clay St & Territory Rd) ; pick up a walking-tour
brochure here.
Leadbetter Point State Park Natural Area PARK
(Stackpole Rd) The 807-acre Leadbetter Point State Park Natural Area, 3 miles north of
Oysterville, is a kind of buffer between the straggling developments of Long Beach Pen-
insula and a section of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, a band of dunes increas-
ingly breached by Pacific waves. The narrow peninsula has four trails ranging from 1.1
to 2.9 miles that lead along the bayside wetlands or the coastal dune forest or out to the
wild ocean beach. It's as good a place as any in the Northwest to watch for shorebirds.
Sleeping & Eating
Moby Dick Hotel & Oyster Farm HOTEL$$$
( 360-665-4543; www.mobydickhotel.com ; 25814 Sandridge Rd, Nahcotta; d incl breakfast
$90-150) Get intimate with the whale vertebrae that furnish the patio in this 1929
structure that once served as a Coast Guard barracks. Other features include a sauna,
three communal lounge rooms and a celebrated restaurant that serves up delicious oysters
picked from the hotel's very own oyster beds. Bold colors and eclectic themes character-
ize the 10 rooms (two of which have private bathroom), and the substantial three-course
breakfast should keep you going all day.
Bailey's Bakery & Café BAKERY, CAFE$
( www.baileysbakerycafe.com ; 26910 Sandridge Rd, Nahcotta; snacks from $3; 8am-3pm Thu-Sat
& Mon, from 9am Sun) Sharing digs with Nahcotta post office, this small nook serves loc-
ally roasted Long Beach coffee and the lauded 'thunder buns': currants, pecans, honey-
butter glaze and a whole lot of bun.
Long Beach & Seaview
Long Beach (population 1393) blends seamlessly into Seaview (population 516) to com-
prise the major population center on the peninsula. Both towns began as beach resorts in
the late 1880s. A few old inns from this era have been beautifully restored, though the