Westport Washington Walks and Hikes
Getting out and About in the South Beach Area
Discover the South Beach
The Westport area coastline is more beautiful than you could imagine. Tall dune grasses blow gently in the wind. Pathways twist and turn throughout the dunes with a surprise of a beautiful wide sandy beach as the prize. Birds soar overhead - pelicans migrating high overhead, eagles gliding above the dunes searching for prey, happy seagulls, and tiny sanderlings. On a lucky early or late summer day, you can spy whales breaching on the horizon as they travers the long migratory path between Alaska and Mexico. Several hundred feet inland now, Washington's tallest lighthouse peeks through the coastal pine trees still lighting the way for navigators.
Walk the 1.3-mile mostly paved path to Westhaven Jetty, which separates the Pacific Ocean from Half Moon Bay. Go fishing, go surfing or explore the Westport Lighthouse (on nearby Coast Guard property). Run with your dog or ride your horse down the beach. Hop in the car and explore nearby parks. Bottle Beach State Park is a known birding destination, and Twin Harbors or Grayland Beach state parks provide seaside retreats in yurts, cabins or your tent or RV.
Training Distances
Run a 5k from your door to the Westhaven State Park bathrooms and back, or a cool 5 miles if you go all the way to the end of Neddie Rose Drive before heading back. The entire length from the Westport by the Sea property to the Jetty is on a protected, paved path that winds through the dunes with constant gorgeous ocean vistas. Once you get to the state park, cross the parking lot and head North toward the Marina district. Only the last quarter mile along Neddie Rose drive is on a street shared with cars.
Fisherman's Boardwalk
Located at the northwest end of the Marina, Float 20 - also known as the Fisherman's Boardwalk, provides lots of opportunity to fish and crab off the pier, view the working fishing marina, boatwatch at the entrance to Grays Harbor, and enjoy the salty sea air. If you have small children, you can borrow a life jacket for safe exploring from the kiosk near the Weighmaster Station (across the street from Granny Hazel's Candy and Gifts). All of the piers are working piers, so use caution when exploring around the boats and fishermen. Enjoy the sights and sounds of our amazing Marina while you explore the docks!
Bird Watching on the Bay
Bottle Beach State Park sits on the tide flats of Southern Grays Harbor, in a place that was once called "Ocosta by the Sea". This gorgeous green space on the bay plays host to more than a million migratory shorebirds and sea birds in spring and fall.
The park has a 0.7 mile (1.5 round trip) ADA-accessible trail, which is a designated official Washington State Birding Trail designated by the Audubon Society. More than 130 bird species, including raptors, have been known to alight for a quick meal at Bottle Beach.
The boardwalk and trail lead past Redman Slough to a picturesque beachhead viewing shelter. Drop down to the mud flats below, and explore remnants of a dock built in 1890 to serve Ocosta, a boom town that quickly went bust and disappeared by the 1950s.
Bottle Beach does not allow dogs.
This is the perfect short walk for mixed mobility groups. We do ask that if you are aware of birders, who rely on quiet observaton to allow the birds to get close enough for viewing.
Enjoy this amazing piece of nature in our back yard!