Ocean Shores is a small resort community on a sandy peninsula between Grays Harbor and the Pacific Ocean, on Washington's central coast. The beaches here are wide and dramatic — miles of flat sand backed by dunes, with the kind of moody Pacific weather that makes the Washington coast distinctive.
The town is a popular weekend escape from Seattle and the Puget Sound cities. The main draws are the beach itself — good for kite flying, razor clamming in season, and long walks — and easy access to the wilder coastline and rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula to the north. Damon Point State Park at the southern tip of the peninsula is one of the better wildlife-watching spots on the Washington coast, and the Ocean Shores Interpretive Center near the northern end has good exhibits on the coastal ecology and migration routes.
Ocean Shores is not glamorous — it is a low-key beach town with motels, a casino, and a handful of restaurants — but the setting is genuine and the beach is spectacular. Just across Grays Harbor in Westport, the Grays Harbor Lighthouse is the tallest in Washington State and worth combining into a day out.