Long Beach Peninsula, Washington

The Long Beach Peninsula is an arm of land in western Washington. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the south by the Columbia River, and the east by Willapa Bay. Leadbetter Point State Park and Willapa National Wildlife Refuge are at the northern tip of the peninsula, Cape Disappointment State Park, formerly known as Fort Canby State Park is at the southern end, and in between is Pacific Pines State Park.

 The Long Beach Peninsula is remarkable for its continuous sand beaches on the Pacific Ocean side, 28 miles in extent, claimed to be the longest beach in the United States and the world's largest drivable beach.  Because of the fine beaches, it is a popular vacation destination

Just outside the reach of the mighty Pacific Ocean, the popular Long Beach Boardwalk stretches for half a mile.  Offering interpretive displays, superb views and picnic areas.  The boardwalk is a short walk from most downtown Long Beach.

 Long Beach is noted worldwide for its mid-August kite festival.
 Unfortunately we missed it.

 Almost 2,000 vessels of all types and about 700 lives have been claimed by the treacherous waters off the Peninsula over the past 300 years.  Even when visibility was acceptable, ships often had trouble traversing the Columbia River bar, the area in which the gigantic flow of the river rushes headlong into towering ocean waves. Sailing ships had a terrible time getting into the Columbia, since the two natural channels through the broad, sediment-choked river mouth, particularly the north channel, forced ships to turn sideways to the wind and waves.

Cape Disappointment, part of the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks west of Ilwaco, was the western most point for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  In 1788, English Explorer Captain John Meares, in seeking the Columbia River, wrote of missing the passage over the bar, and his discouragement named the nearby headland Cape Disappointment.

North Head Lighthouse built in 1898, 42 years after its sister lighthouse was completed on Cape Disappointment.  The need for a second light was critical.  Ships coming down the coast from the north could not see the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse until they were into dangerous water at the mouth of the Columbia River.

The mouth of the Columbia River. 

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse began operating in 1856, and is now the oldest lighthouse still in use on the west coast.

Fishing boats returning with their loot, most were heading to docks in Ilwaco



  

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We spent a couple of hours at this working Cranberry Farm & Museum. It is a research center funded partly by WSU. It was interesting to see the different harvesting methods and equipment developed over the years.  Cranberries have been commercially on the Long Beach Peninsula since 1883.  Cranberries are planted on sandy soils.  They prefer well drained soil and need adequate water.  Cranberries grow on vines not bushes. Cranberries are a perennial wetland plant that can produce for 100 years or more. It takes about 3 years after planting before the first harvest, and 5 years for a full
harvest.

 

The principal industry of the Long Beach Peninsula has become tourism, though fishing, crabbing, oyster farming, and cranberry farming are also important components of the local economy. The Long Beach Peninsula is located on the west side of the Willapa Bay, considered the number one producer of farmed oysters in the United States and among the top five producers worldwide.

     
Historic Oysterville

This 80-acre community is on the National Historic Register of National Historic Districts.

Oyster shells bundled and ready for reuse in seeding a new oyster crop.

An Oyster "seed" is an oyster that is transplanted to another location for the purposes of commercial grow-out or restoration. Seeds can be produced from a hatchery or harvested from the wild. The type of seed we start with is "spat-on-shell" or cultched oysters produced from a hatchery. In producing spat-on-shell in the hatchery, the whole oyster shell is first dried out on land in order to remove organic material that could degrade water quality in the setting tanks. Shells are placed in plastic mesh bags and stacked in the tanks - river water is then added and heated to temperatures that will enhance the setting of free-swimming larval oysters. Once the oysters have attached themselves, metamorphosed and set, they are then referred to as spat. Spats are generally kept in the tanks for several days, then removed to a nursery area where tides and currents provide the water exchange necessary for growth and survival.

The Interpretive building is a replica of a 150 year old oyster station house built on pilings over the water where Oystermen and their families used to lived.