Welcome all you BeachBums!!
The beach at Ocean Shores is huge. The sand is much harder packed than the other beaches I have seen thus far, so lots of vehicles drive up past the high tide line, and they are dwarfed by the sheer size of the beach – it is miles long but also really deep.
Ocean Shores is on the Olympic Peninsula and is a favourite vacation spot for many Washington families. I imagine it is because they’d have no trouble keeping the kids entertained; from playing mini golf to racing go karts, visiting a video arcade, riding bikes, and – of course – digging in the sand. For the adults there is horseback riding, fishing, golf, hiking, birding, flying a kite – and my favourite – beachcombing. Also relaxing in the sun reading or just taking in the view – my other favourite!
The town has some good restaurants and one of them, Los IV Hermanos, was the best Mexican food I have ever eaten (and I have been to Mexico!!). Great service, cheap margaritas ($3.50), tacos and enchiladas to die for, and you know how they always serve taco chips and salsa before you order? Well this place serves a small bowl of pickled cabbage as well that, when heaped on a taco chip along with some salsa, is to DIE for. So much so that I had to ask for a second bowl.
It is amazing to have a beach this great so close to home. I didn’t have a lot of time to walk its length – I mean most all of the beaches I’ve visited are so huge, it is impossible to explore them in depth on a trip like this. I need to make trips back to a lot of them and stay a week or two so that I can properly beachcomb each one.
Meanwhile, I highly recommend this beach and town for those who don’t have the time or inclination to travel further south (I honestly prefer and love Oregon beaches and those would be my first choice to recommend and go back to). I know I will be back, especially because I found a great place to stay that didn’t break the bank – I will be talking about all the places I stayed in a separate post at the end of my beach reviews.
But yeah, this beach is great and the area has a lot to offer so it is definitely one to put on the list to visit if you live within a hundred miles or so.
Love and Sunshine,
Sandy
