Ocean Shores, WA: beautiful beach resort town with plentiful beach access
January 2023: Ocean Shores (population 6,715*) is located at the southernmost end of the north peninsula called Point Brown on the Pacific coast. We started our day trip from the Seattle metro area to arrive at Ocean Shores in the early afternoon to check out the beach and to explore the local business district. We were greeted by a big welcome sign and an amazing shoreline!
Being a cool and foggy day in late January, we began our visit with a drive onto the beach to find a parking area. We were relieved to avoid the high tourist season! Dressed comfortably in a lined rain jacket, we had a fabulous time walking the beach. Our favorite photo op was a tree root ball that washed up on the beach!
As we drove around, we found that this beautiful beach town does not have what might be considered a “downtown“, which is explained by the history of how it was developed. However, it does have many local and visitor-friendly businesses and amenities.
Ocean Shores – A Brief history
Long before the arrival of European explores and settlers, the peninsula was well known by the various local tribes (Chinook, Chehalis, Quinault) for trading and other purposes. The first European explorer (Captain Robert Gray) on record landed in the area in 1792. Later his name became the basis fir both the bay and the County – Gray’s Harbor. The earliest European settlements date back to the 1860s as trading supply centers and later a cattle ranch.
The ranch land was sold to the Ocean Shores Development Corporation in 1960 which started development supporting a tourism boom. Perhaps its most famous resident and investor in the late 60s was singer Pat Boon.
Downtown vibe / walkability
The town of Ocean Shores does have a business district on the north side, but the businesses are fairly spread out and more easily accessible by a motor vehicle than by walking. However, the roads in town are not through-fare highways, so traffic is relatively slow and therefore relatively safe for biking. We stopped at several shops to look around. There is a collection of colorful modular buildings with retail spaces that we particularly enjoyed. Ocean Shores is not a place with historic old “good bones” buildings as most of the older business buildings date from the 1960s. It does, however, have a lot of character and seriously fun photo ops!
Given the winter season and later afternoon hour, we were unable to find an open local coffee shop – but did see several that got high ratings that we will visit next time.
A deeper dive
I didn’t find an online presence for a local Chamber of Commerce, but did find a helpful website to provide visitor suggestions. There is plenty to do and see in Ocean Shores!
