This Year's Top Events on the Long Beach Peninsula of Washington

I just returned from a writing trip to Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. I checked out the newly renovated Shelburne Hotel. There’s always something going on and many reasons to pack your getaway bag for the beach.

Community organized events on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, a 28-mile-long beach destination bordered by the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River and Willapa Bay, offer the opportunity to experience an array of local pastimes and passions. Among them are razor clam digging, coastal gardening, beach running and cultural events.

Top events include the following:

·      Long Beach Razor ClamFestival (April 20-21) resurrects a popular community event of the 1940s as well as a subsistence tradition. Participants can learn from longtime residents how to find, dig and clean razor clams, taste and vote for the best clam chowder, visit with mermaids, enjoy musical entertainment, relax at a beer garden, enter contests, and more.

·      Beach to Chowder (June 16) run/walk, with a start and finish at the “World’s Long Beach Arch” on Bolstad Avenue, Long Beach, is an ideal way to engage the entire family (dogs permitted on leash) in a fun event over Father’s Day weekend. Local and visiting competitors in 5K and 10K distances run or walk for fun and prizes along a flat stretch of hard-pack sand. Steaming bowls of chowder are enjoyed afterwards during the awards ceremony.

·      Music in the Gardens (July 21) showcases a variety of lovingly tended, magnificent, coastal gardens up and down the peninsula. Hosts welcome ticketed tour goers with garden insights, plant identification and light refreshments, while regional musicians entertain. 

·      Water Music Festival (Oct. 12-14) brings classical musicians to perform at intimate and interesting venues on the Long Beach Peninsula. Many of the attendees are local residents who appreciate world-class chamber music performances brought by the Water Music Society to their remote locale.

·      6x6 Art Show and Auction (Nov. 3) offers a glimpse into the thriving local art scene. Fantastic art objects produced by the region’s most talented artists are auctioned off as a benefit for the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum’s exhibition programs. 

The Long Beach Peninsula is host to more than 50 annual events. For event details, destination information and trip planning, please call the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 360.642.2400 or access www.visitlongbeachpeninsula.com to download the 2018 event calendar directly.

Information Courtesy: Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau

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Adrift Distillers - New Spirits Debut on the Long Beach Peninsula of WA

There’s some crafty work going on at Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. The new Adrift Distillers is introducing three inventive craft spirits with ingredients from local partners, making it the first to bring creative spirits to Pacific County.

“Our spirits are unique because they begin with our partners and the raw ingredients they provide. We highlight their story as much as our own in the creation of our products. Ingredients are sourced from local farmers, including Starvation Alley’s organic cranberry juice, to heritage grain varieties from Living Heritage Farms, and tailored malts from Skagit Valley Malting. We’re blending and using ingredients that no one else is considering,” said Matt Lessnau, partner and head distiller.

Originally from the Long Beach Peninsula, Lessnau studied engineering and worked in the aerospace and consumer electronics industries in Seattle before relocating back to Long Beach. Lessnau combines his experience working behind the bar with his love of experimentation to make distinct local spirits.

Tasting Room Opening

The Tasting Room will open to the public on March 2, at Noon – 8pm. Each taste will cost $1. The distillery will be open with the following hours to start, with expanding hours in the summer.

Noon – 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday

10 a.m. - 3pm Sunday

Address: 409 Sid Snyder Drive BLDG #3

Long Beach, Washington

See more of our posts from Long Beach, WA. 

Oysterville is a Must-Do When on the Long Beach Peninsula

My article for Wander With Wonder on Oysterville, WA was recently published.

The entire town of Oysterville is on the National Historic Register. Oysterville, named after the rich oyster beds of adjacent Willapa Bay, is picturesque and very different from the bustling beach towns of the Long Beach Peninsula. 

Take a walking tour, attend summer vespers in the little church, or relax with a view of Willapa Bay. The maintenance of the little town is a labor of love by the locals. You, too, will fall in love with Oysterville when you visit. Read the Full Article on Oysterville.

The oldest house in quaint Oysterville.

How to Have a Great Beach Vacation with Your Family

Families love beach vacations. As free time becomes more precious, creating the “perfect” family getaway carries more importance. Here are tips from vacation experts at Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau to help ensure a great family beach vacation.

Do a little research. Start with the destination website including the event calendar. Look for ideas on places to stay, where to eat and what to do. Blog posts are also helpful as are itinerary builders. For more ideas and visitor feedback, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are potential resources. Search for travel stories on the destination to get third-party perspectives.

Adrift Hotel with the Pickled Fish Restaurant
is both family friendly and dog friendly. It's right on the beach!

Select lodging ahead of time and make a reservation. Do the same for any must-try restaurant choices. While some things can be left unplanned, securing lodging, especially when traveling with young children, is important. Look for lodging that fits personal tastes, needs and budget. Would quiet or more lively be the best fit? Traditional or contemporary? On-site dining or full kitchens? Stand alone vacation home or hotel or perhaps something unique like a lightkeeper’s house, yurt or vintage travel trailer?

Sketch in a simple, flexible itinerary. For each day, select the where or what for three meals and three activities. With older children, involve the entire family in the process letting each choose a food they’d like to eat and favorite thing to do. (A walk along the boardwalk with a double-scoop waffle cone might count for one of each.)

Walking on the beach at sunset.

Give children as many experiences as possible while young; they soak in everything and are enchanted by the smallest things or the largest as in joining hands of everyone in the family to try and encircle an ancient Sitka spruce or exploring tiny creatures in tide pools. Scheduling a getaway is also easier with young children before other activities (i.e. practices, game schedules, sleepovers) make finding time more tricky.

Integrate fun, age-appropriate ways to learn, such as forming letters with sticks of driftwood or exploring hands-on museum exhibits like those at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.

While away and especially when spending time in nature, consider keeping device use to a minimum, including social media posts. It’s easier to enforce this with older children by example.

When traveling with young children, make every effort to keep on their regular schedule including nap time. For active children, give them plenty to do to burn off extra energy with walks on the beach, bike rides on dedicated trails, something new like flying a kite, and non-structured playtime.

Create new family traditions or revisit childhood traditions, perhaps something as simple as writing a message in the sand to serve as the foreground for a family photo or using a local landmark like a giant clam pan or lighthouse as the same backdrop year after year. Recall the things that made family vacations special and memorable and share those with the next generation – digging for razor clams, feasting on whole cooked Dungeness crab, playing Frisbee on the beach with the family dog.

Seafood and Charter Fishing on the Long Beach Peninsula

Let go of 'perfect.' Expectations for what a family getaway should look like can get in the way of serendipity and those most memorable moments that magically happen when least expected. Relax and enjoy every precious second.

About the Long Beach Peninsula

With its mix of family friendly restaurants, ultra-local seafood, ocean view lodging, unique museums, landmark lighthouses, meandering trails, state and national parks, and 28-mile sandy, public beach, the Long Beach Peninsula is one of the Northwest’s most enjoyable and refreshing family destinations. For vacation planning assistance, please call the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 360.642.2400 or access www.visitlongbeachwa.com.

And, if you want to see what we put together for an old-fashioned family beach getaway on the Long Beach Peninsula see our article on Bindu Trips.

Spring Hiking in the Long Beach Peninsula of Washington

Sloshing through ankle deep mud on a rare sunny or more predictably rainy day is a quintessential Northwest experience. When spring’s urge to get outdoors calls, find perfectly wet trails plus 28 miles of sandy, public beach on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula.

Spring Hiking on the Long Beach Peninsula
Well known for the oyster beds of Willapa Bay, great food, bird watching, and charter fishing, the Long Beach Peninsula also boasts an impressive system of trails. An estimated 30 miles of trails traverse the peninsula through grassy dunes and old growth forests, over rocky headlands, around wetlands and through scrub pine forest.

Local experts suggest the following for great spring hiking:

The soggy, 1.5-mile round-trip Coastal Loop includes plenty of short ups and downs, with steep sections. Features included huge, ancient Sitka spruce (some 10 feet in diameter), views of the Columbia River, and fauna and flora including newts, frogs, bald eagles, owls, foxes, otters, huckleberries, mushrooms, and flowers. Access to this 1.5-mile round trip loop is near Serious Pizza and the park office at the entrance to Ilwaco’s Cape Disappointment State Park (Discovery Pass required for cars). Dogs on leash are permitted.

The Weather Beach and Bearberry trails at Leadbetter Point, on the north end of the Peninsula, are likely to be under water this time of year. The 1.1-mile Bay Loop (green trail) offers mud without wading, birding sites, scrub pine forest, marsh grass fields and flat terrain. A Discover Pass is required for parking at Leadbetter Point State Park.

Delight in signs of spring (and mud) on three trails at the headquarters of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge: ¼-mile Art Trail mostly on boardwalk; fern-laden Cut Throat Climb, a ¾-mile loop; and nearby third-mile Teal Slough, showcasing millennium-old western red cedar and Sitka spruce trees. The refuge headquarters is near milepost 24 on State Route 101. Teal Slough is 1.6 miles northeast of the headquarters.

Spring Hiking on the Paved Discovery Trail
For the mud adverse, all but a short section of Discovery Trail on the west side of the Cape Disappointment headlands is paved. This 8.5-mile long coastal interpretive path stretches from Ilwaco on a forested climb and descent to Beard’s Hollow wetlands, then through grassy dunes to a mile north of Long Beach, with a forested spur to North Head Lighthouse added in 2014. Access points most with free parking are at the Port of Ilwaco, Beard’s Hollow, the Seaview and both Long Beach beach approaches, as well as the south end of the Breakers Resort. In Long Beach, the trail parallels a ½ mile wooden boardwalk. The trail is shared with cyclists, and dogs on leashes are permitted.

For more information on the Peninsula’s trails and recreational offerings, please call the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 360.642.2400 or access www.funbeach.com.

Information provided by Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau

Dig Or No Dig, Long Beach Razor Clam Festival Slated for April

It’s fun to dig for razor clams but if that isn’t possible, you can still celebrate them! The Razor Clam Festival returns to Long Beach for a lively weekend of food, foraging, fun competitions and entertainment. Activities will take place in downtown Long Beach, Washington, Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30, with digging along the entire 28-mile span of wide, sandy beach pending state approval.

Keep your fingers crossed that there will be digging
for Razor Clams this season.

Festival highlights include the ever-popular Clam Chowder Taste-Off (Saturday, 1-3PM, Long Beach Elks Club) with samples cooked up and served by local restaurant chefs to ticket holders, who vote for the prized “Best Chowder” award, and the Clam Fritter Cook-Off (Saturday, 3-5PM, Veterans Memorial Park), where Ilwaco High School Culinary Arts Program students vie for top recognition awarded by a panel of Tom Douglas restaurant chefs.

The Amateur Chowder Competition offers twelve home chefs the chance to compete for cash prizes and the highly sought out title “Best Homemade Clam Chowder” as judged by chefs from Tom Douglas restaurants. The competition takes place at the Long Beach Elks, on April 29, from 11AM to noon.

Other festival events include the following:

•       Clam Digging and Clam Cleaning Lessons both days. Registration is at www.longbeachrazorclamfestival.com/free-razor-clam-digging-lessons/;

•       Clam Contests, April 29, 8AM-noon, Dennis Company, Long Beach, including free samples and prize drawings by manufacturers of clam-digging tools;

•       Oregon Mermaids storytelling, face painting, photo ops and more, April 29, 11AM-2PM, Long Beach Train Depot;

•       Street entertainment including Dennis Duck, the Beard’s Hollow Pirates and Clam Bathing Beauties;

•       North Jetty Brewing Beer Garden & Un-Clammy Foods, April 29, 3-8PM, Veterans Memorial Park.

“The Clam Guy,” David Berger, author of the soon to be released Razor Clams: Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest (due out in July, University of Washington Press) will attend as an honorary guest.

Expanding options for things to see and do, the Saturday Market at the Port of Ilwaco will open for a season preview, April 29 from 10AM to 4PM. In Long Beach, the Giant Squirting Clam and World’s Largest Clam Pan provide the perfect souvenir-photo backdrop.

Headquarters for the event is the Long Beach Elks Lodge where free coffee, updates, festival keepsakes including sweatshirts, t-shirts, mugs, hats and more will be available both days.

Long Beach ranks among the best places to dig for razor clams with a vast digging area, easy beach access, the gentle slope of the shoreline and other favorable conditions.

For additional clamming information and regulations, please contact the Dennis Company at 360.642.3166 or visit WDFW at www.wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/.

For lodging (early reservations suggested) and destination information, visit www.funbeach.com or call the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 360.642.2400

Information courtesy: Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau 

Wordless Wednesday: 4 from Ilwaco Washington

Visit Ilwaco, Washington, coastal fishing village.