Grayland Beach State Park

August 7-11
Well, this was a gem of a park! After leaving Long Beach, we traveled up the coast to Grayland Beach State Park for a few more days on the foggy coast. I had never even heard of this Washington State Park, but I must be in the minority because throughout our five-day stay the Campground Full sign was out every night. The only reason we even got a site on such short notice was because someone else canceled their reservation.

Aside from the fabulous beachside location, what makes this park so nice is the layout. The sites here are arranged in a series of connected small loops with only 10 or sites in each loop. This arrangement ensures that for one, all the sites are on the outer edge of the loop, and two, the only vehicles that drive past your site are those also staying in the loop. The result is a scenic and peaceful park set amid a lovely coastal forest.

One of the small campground loops

Our site was in one of the inner loops where full hook-ups are the norm and the dense forest between sites creates a much-appreciated privacy screen. Aside from the 4 days we spent dry camping at the Northwest String Summit, we’ve now been enjoying full hook-ups for the last month. I am starting to feel spoiled by the lack of need to conserve water. I don’t even remember the last time I took this many showers!

A rare bit of sunshine at our site – 5 minutes later a thick layer of fog completely coved us

While there are no water or beach view sites here, there are a few that back up to the dunes. These sites only have partial hook-ups (water & electric) and they are much more open which means on rare occasions when the sun does come out you might get to enjoy it.

One of the sites alongside the dunes

Not that a site with open sky would have mattered during our stay because the sun only came out for a few hours during the entire five days. I am trying my best to embrace the fog and clouds, but the truth is that I start to feel a little down and unmotivated when I don’t see the sun for days at a time. The constant damp and high humidity is also not something that thrills me. I am definitely at my best in a warm dry climate. Too bad I can’t find a place that is both warm, dry, and full of the amazing, lush forests and wild coastlines of the PNW.  I guess this is why we live in a house on wheels.

So much fog!

No big adventures were had during our stay. It was a low-key kind of week with lots of walks on the beach, a short bike ride through the dunes followed by more biking around the fishing town of Westport, an attempt at touring a lighthouse (we arrived too late in the day) and lots of relaxing in our super nice, super private campsite.

The Grays Harbor Lighthouse is the tallest in Washington.

It’s all about the fishing boats at the Westport marina

We stopped for a few minutes to watch a jet ski competition

Another wide, flat beach