The Long Beach Peninsula <3
After my Norway trip, I just got busy catching up with work, writing about the amazing Northern lights chase (Blog coming soon) and also recovering from the trip hangover. It wasn’t long before that I was already exploring my weekend getaway options :D. I was actually zooming through google maps where I saw a vast stretch of land surrounded by water, the Long Beach Peninsula located to the south of Washington. As I started reading about it, I set my mind on visiting this place. Knowing that it’s a remote fishing town blessed with the “World’s longest beach” and a State park with the most striking name – a blend of a laid-back weekend with the essential quirks was a twofer!
Drive to the South of Washington is an absolute bliss. You travel across highways surrounded by opulent green farmlands, charming houses and a colourful sunset. Don’t even try to resist the temptation of stopping by for a few clicks!
I and my friends Navadeep, Ankita, Pravin and Akshay planned to leave after work on Friday, it was rainy and got even worst on Saturday. That didn’t bring us down or stop us from making the most of this weekend!
Here’s a quick look at the places/things I loved exploring and doing in this lonely town, hidden in the most South Western part of Washington.
Cape Disappointment State Park
It is a state park located to the southwest of Ilwaco on the Long Beach Peninsula. You can get a $15 Discovery pass at the entrance or in the parking lot inside. Cape Disappointment trail, Lewis and Clark’s Interpretive Centre are very close from the parking lot. We took the Cape Disappointment trail to see the Dead Mans Cove. The cove is within 0.2 miles of a distance and the cove is down to the right side. The climb down to the cove is slippery and muddy without real support to hold on to. It was crazy windy when we got here. We tried going near the rock that you see in the middle, but it was too windy for it. I gave up and found myself a quiet corner on the beach. We spend a couple of hours here fighting the wind! If you keep walking on the trail you will see Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. Located at the mouth of Columbia River, this is the windiest part of the state park. The view of Long beach from here is splendid.
Deadman’s Cove
This is the picture from my camera after it suffered from the slaps of harsh wind, water and sand!
On our walk a little ahead from the cove. You will see this tiny house covered with grass.
We were unstoppable here 😀
At Deadman’s Cove
Town of Long Beach <3
Bar hop in the small, friendly town of long beach. You will see a majority of a retired crowd here who are delightful. We were in Long Beach Tavern and they had pool tournament that weekend. So people were drunk and amusing! But there are many more bars, restaurants on the street close by along with some souvenir shops. Enjoy some early morning breakfast at Benson’s by the Beach, if your food comes on time and if you have the patience to wait for it (their service is mind-numbingly slow :/) Our Favourite was Malai Thai as we were craving for something filling. After a good meal, try some ice cream/chocolates from Scoopers. I loved this place. They have a variety of chocolates and flavours of ice creams. Utterly chocolate and Death by Chocolate are a must try.
We woke up every morning to this view <3
This was our little Airbnb!
Spin Donuts on the “World’s Longest Beach”
It’s one of the seven wonders of the Washington state. They claim that it’s the world’s longest beach, it should rather be the world’s longest continuous peninsula beach since it’s on the longest continuous peninsula. We were looking forward to our drive on the beach and spinning donuts. That’s something that has attracted a lot of crowd over a period of time. The Peninsula is officially a State Highway and has a speed limit of 25mph. A 4WD is recommended but not necessary. There’s a boardwalk nearby so you can take a stroll if weather permits.
Benson Beach is another option which is less crowded. You can also feed seagulls here or get an artistic picture for the gram!
Waikiki Beach is located in the State Park and you get a continuous view of the Cape Disappointment lighthouse from here. During summer, this is a favourite spot among the locals for a picnic or to take a dip in the water.
The Famous entrance to the beach
Driving on this beach was a lot of fun!
The frothy water of Long beach
Benson beach
Lighthouses!
There are two lighthouses in Ilwaco. The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse as I mentioned before and the North Head Lighthouse. The latter was closed when we were here. But CDL was open and the view of the coastline from here is something you just can’t miss. I would expect it to be much better in the summer. We could barely stand here 🙁
The view of the lighthouse from Waikiki Beach
Long Beach is a very mellow and inexpensive city. Our food, drinks were really cheap. Drinks for 4 people just cost around $20 and a good breakfast for only $10 per person! Recreational fishing, crabbing and clamming are favourite among locals here. It’s also one of the best saltwater fishing in the Pacific Northwest. The International Kite festival occurs In Long Beach every year around August that brings kite fliers from all over the world along with numerous onlookers.
If you are looking to get away from the busy city for an offbeat weekend, Long Beach won’t disappoint you!
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