The Long Beach Peninsula is an arm of land on the southern coast of the state of Washington in the United States. Entirely within Pacific County, 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 end of the peninsula and Cape Disappointment is at the southern end, with Pacific Pines State Park located in between.
Cape Disappointment State Park west of Ilwaco, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, was the westernmost terminus for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. A monument designed by Maya Lin as part of the Confluence Project [1] was dedicated there in 2005.
The Long Beach Peninsula is known for its continuous sand beach 28 miles (45 km) in extent on the Pacific Ocean side, claimed to be the longest beach in the United States. It is a popular vacation destination for people from Seattle, Washington (165 miles (266 km) distant) and Portland, Oregon (115 miles (185 km) distant).
Due to its low elevation and coastal location, the peninsula is at high risk of severe damage in the event of a tsunami. [2]
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.
The Long Beach Peninsula has become one of the most popular tourism destinations in the State of Washington, and has attracted visitors from all over North America. As one of the final destinations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, several television specials have brought publicity to this area. A multitude of events and festivals are held throughout the year including the Washington State International Kite Festival, [3] the Sandsations sandcastle sculpting competition, [4] and the annual The Rod Run to the End of the World, [5] which attracts thousands of visitors on the weekend following Labor Day.
Pacific County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,365. Its county seat is South Bend, and its largest city is Raymond. The county was formed by the government of Oregon Territory in February 1851 and is named for the Pacific Ocean.
Ilwaco is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 936 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1890, the city was home to the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company along the Long Beach Peninsula, with its core economy based on logging and timber rafting. The city is located on the southern edge of the Long Beach Peninsula, on Baker Bay on the north side of the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific Ocean. It is near the city of Astoria, Oregon, which lies to the southeast on the southern bank of the Columbia.
Long Beach is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,392 at the 2010 census.
Ocean Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,573 at the 2010 census. It is on the Long Beach Peninsula, north of Long Beach, Washington.
Willapa Bay is a bay located on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state in the United States. The Long Beach Peninsula separates Willapa Bay from the greater expanse of the Pacific Ocean. With over 120 square miles (310 km2) of surface area Willapa Bay is the second-largest riverine estuary on the Pacific coast of the continental United States. Early settlers called the bay Shoalwater Bay and this name is found on old maps and charts of the region.
Waikiki Beach is a beach at Cape Disappointment, Washington.
The Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, located in the vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia River, commemorates the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Administration of the park, which includes both federal and state lands, is a cooperative effort of the National Park Service and the states of Oregon and Washington. The National Historical Park was dedicated on November 12, 2004.
The Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. It is one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world, earning the nickname Graveyard of the Pacific. The bar is about 3 miles (5 km) wide and 6 miles (10 km) long.
Cape Disappointment State Park is a public recreation area on Cape Disappointment, located southwest of Ilwaco, Washington, on the bottom end of Long Beach Peninsula, the northern headlands where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. The state park's 2,023 acres (819 ha) encompass a diverse landscape of old-growth forest, freshwater lakes, freshwater and saltwater marshes, and oceanside tidelands. Park sites include Fort Canby, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, North Head Lighthouse, and Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. Cape Disappointment is one of several state parks and sites in Washington and Oregon that are included in Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.
Oysterville is an unincorporated community located along Willapa Bay on the Long Beach Peninsula in Pacific County, Washington, United States. It is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from the city of Ocean Park, and 15 miles (24 km) from Long Beach. Founded in 1841 as an oyster fishing village, the community is registered on the National Register of Historic Places as the Oysterville Historic District. It currently has a population of about 20 residents.
The Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company operated a 3 ft narrow gauge railroad that ran for over forty years from the bar of the Columbia River up the Long Beach Peninsula to Nahcotta, Washington, on Willapa Bay. The line ran entirely in Pacific County, Washington, and had no connection to any outside rail line. The railroad had a number of nicknames, including the "Clamshell Railroad" and the "Irregular, Rambling and Never-Get-There Railroad."
Seaview is an unincorporated community in Pacific County, Washington. It is located near Long Beach and had a population for its 98644 ZIP code at the 2010 census of 473 people.
Nahcotta is an unincorporated community in Pacific County, in the American state of Washington. It is located on Willapa Bay, on the eastern coast of the Long Beach Peninsula, within the Ocean Park CDP.
State Route 100 (SR 100) is a 4.68-mile-long (7.53 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, serving Cape Disappointment State Park in Pacific County. The highway travels counterclockwise from U.S. Route 101 (US 101) in Ilwaco south to Cape Disappointment and north to an intersection with itself in Ilwaco. SR 100, part of the Lewis and Clark Trail Scenic Byway, serves as a loop route and has a spur route that serves the state park and a Coast Guard station. SR 100 was established in 1991 on the existing North Head Road, which was a paved county road by the late 1950s. The highway was washed away during a 1994 winter storm and had its spur route shortened in 2006.
Loomis station was a stop on the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company's narrow gauge line that ran on the Long Beach Peninsula in Pacific County, Washington, United States from 1889 to 1930. The stop actually consisted of simply the mansion of Lewis A. Loomis, the founder and president of the line. He died in 1913, his mansion fell into disrepair, and the railroad ceased making stops at Loomis. In 1953 the mansion was torn down by a grandson of L.A. Loomis.
Holman was a stop on the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company's narrow gauge line that ran on the Long Beach Peninsula in Pacific County, Washington, USA from 1889 to 1930. Development in the area began when James Duval Holman. received a donation land claim on the west side of what is now Ilwaco.
U.S. Route 101 (US 101) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs along the West Coast from Los Angeles, California to Tumwater, Washington. Within the state of Washington, US 101 connects cities on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and encircles the Olympic Peninsula around the Olympic Mountains. It also serves as the main access for Olympic National Park, several state parks, and other scenic and recreational areas.
Willapa Bay is a large shallow body of water near the Pacific Ocean in southwestern Washington. For a number of years before modern roads were built in Pacific County, Washington, the bay was used as the means of travel around the county, by powered and unpowered craft, including several steamboats.
Cape Disappointment is a headland of the Pacific Northwest, located at the extreme southwestern corner of Washington, United States, on the north side of the Columbia River bar and just west of Baker Bay. The point of the cape is located on the Pacific Ocean in Washington's Pacific County, approximately two miles (3.2 km) southwest of the town of Ilwaco. Cape Disappointment sees about 2,552 hours of fog a year—the equivalent of 106 days—making it one of the foggiest places in the U.S.
General Miles was a steamship constructed in 1882 which served in various coastal areas of the states of Oregon and Washington, as well as British Columbia and the territory of Alaska. It was apparently named after US General Nelson A. Miles.