Willapa Bay is one of the cleanest and most productive estuaries on the West Coast of North America. The Willapa National Wildlife Refuge protects much of the bay's shoreline, tidal flats, and the islands within it, providing critical habitat for migrating shorebirds and waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded here; the spring and autumn migration periods, when hundreds of thousands of birds use the bay as a staging point, are spectacular.
The refuge includes several units accessible by car or on foot from the peninsula. The main visitor contact station is on Highway 101 on the east side of the bay. Hiking trails at several trailheads lead into second-growth forest and along the bay edge. Kayakers and canoeists can access Long Island, where an old-growth cedar grove survives. The bay itself produces the majority of Washington's oysters — the tidal flats visible from the highway are dotted with oyster racks year-round.