Post Summary: Fun Things To Do In Ocean Shores WA
Last month, we spent a lazy week in Ocean Shores with some of our best friends.
We did a LOT of relaxing in Ocean Shores, but we also wanted to get the most out of this cute little town! It may be small in size, but it brimming over with family-friendly activities, delicious restaurants with fresh seafood, and lots of opportunities to get out and explore outside.
There are so many fun things to do in Ocean Shores, and we were so lucky to have a local tour guide to show us around.ย In this post, we’re going to share all the coolest things to do in Ocean Shores!
We hope it inspires you to take a trip out to the Washington coast soon!
Where is Ocean Shores, WA?
Ocean Shores is located on the far west side of Washington state. It’s a charming and small coastal town in Gray’s Harbor, known for its beautiful long sandy beaches and low, grassy dunes. In the past, the Chinook, Chehalis, and Quinault Tribes used the peninsula for trading and fishing.
Now, it’s a vacation town, used by many Washingtontonians as a quiet, relaxing escape on the Washington coast.
Places To Stay In Ocean Shores, WA
If you are looking for a place to stay on your trip to Ocean Shores, there are a lot of vacation rentals and hotels available.
You can find Ocean Shores vacation rentals on VRBO or Airbnb.
Here are some of our favorite hotels in Ocean Shores:
10 Things To Do In Ocean Shores, Washington
What To Do In Ocean Shores:
1. Explore The North Jetty
In case you didn’t know (because I didn’t), a jetty is a structure that projects, or “jets”, out into a body of water. This is one of the most fun and adventurous things to do in Washington if you have curious kids – they can climb all over the rocks and discover so much!
They are mostly man-made and mainly used to control the waves and sand erosion in certain areas. This helps to preserve buildings that are near the water and to keep bay waters calm.
Here at the North Jetty, (ironically located the farthest South you can get in Ocean Shores), you can find crabs hiding under rocks and colorful starfish in the crashing waves.
Lots of little sea creatures make their home here! Because of the questionable weather the day we visited, we made sure to bring our raincoats and wear our rain boots in case we got sprayed by a rogue wave!
Thankfully the sun came out and we had a fun afternoon exploring.
Read More: 5 Essentials You Need To Bring To The Washington Coast
2. Get A Double Scoop At Murphy’s Candy & Ice Cream
We went to Murphy’s Ice Cream an embarrassingly large amount of times in our week at Ocean Shores.
I spent so much time trying to choose between their wide variety of delicious flavors, and their waffle cones are to die for! Murphy’s also has an entire wall of colorful saltwater taffy to purchase – by the bucket!
This shop is located a just a block or two from the ocean, so make sure to grab a cone and take a walk to the beach!
3. Rent Mopeds at Apollo Mopeds
Located just off the beach (in the same complex as Murphy’s Ice Cream!) is a place where you can rent mopeds and take them for a spin around town.
Apollo Mopeds rents their scooters by the hour and provides you with everything you need – from a riding helmet to a full tank of gas!
Most of the town streets are 25 miles per hour, so even beginners will have an easy time navigating traffic on the road.
The best part about these mopeds? You can drive them on the beach!
4. Go Vintage Shopping On Point Brown Ave
Along one of the town’s few busy streets are a generous handful of consignment shops, boutiques, and thrift stores. We didn’t spend nearly enough time finding treasures as I would have liked, but where we did visit was so worth it!
Here, I found a really awesome jean jacket (seen in this post) for $10! Some other shops to check out are The Boardwalk Shops, Dolores’ and Fay’s, Captain’s Attic Consignment Shop, and Anchor Avenue Thrift Store.
Read More: What To Pack For A Trip To The Pacific Northwest
5. Go Boogie Boarding In The Pacific Ocean
Josh’s family had a bunch of boogie boards and wetsuits in their shed, so we decided one day to pull them out and brave the frigid Washington coast waters!
After some hilarious attempts to fit into these suits, we drove only 10 minutes out to the shore (everything is close to everything here) and headed to the Pacific Ocean.
Not going to lie – the water was really cold. But after a few minutes, our legs went numb and we didn’t really feel it anymore. The adrenaline kept us going and we were off in search of the perfect wave!
Make sure to go when the tide is coming in, that way the water can push you back to shore! You can find Washington tide charts here.
Read More: 1o of The Best Washington Beaches To Visit Right Now
6. Blow Off Some Steam At The Ocean Shores Driving Range
After one morning of being lazy and drinking too much coffee, we decided to play around on the golf course in town. We each bought a bucket of golf balls and went out to the range to see what we could do!
It was my (Emily’s) first time at a driving range, so it took me a little while to get used to hitting the ball correctly.
If you’ve got an afternoon and a good group of friends, you’re sure to have fun here.
We ultimately decided not to do the whole course because of time constraints. It is huge! Golfing not your thing? Here are some other things to see/do on the Olympic Peninsula.
7. Take a day trip to Astoria, Oregon
Being the explorers we are, we wanted to spend some time seeing what was around town, not just in it!
We spent the morning exploring Cape Disappointment State Park, just north of Astoria, Oregon.
We had come here for the first time this past June but wanted to show our friends Lauren and Josh the cove we discovered. We spent time here playing in the water and exploring sea life nearby!
For the afternoon and evening, we walked around Astoria’s many cafes, shops, and boutiques. We also brought some fancier clothes and changed into them for dinner at Baked Alaska on the pier of the Columbia River in Astoria.
It was fun to wrap up our week together celebrating with some good wine, good food, and good friends!
Read More: How To Explore Cape Disappointment State Park
Read More: 11 Places To See On The Olympic Peninsula
Other Notable Places We Loved In Ocean Shores:
Mike’s Seafood: Here, you’re pretty much guaranteed that the seafood available was caught that day. We ordered whole Dungeness crab, clams, and all sorts of yummy local eats!
Galway Bay Irish Pub: The ambiance of this restaurant literally made us feel like we were in Ireland. They served authentic Irish dishes, and really inspired us to take a trip across the pond ASAP!
Las Maracas Mexican: When we first arrived in Ocean Shores, this was our first stop. It is one of the few Mexican restaurants in town, and offers their own selection of local seafood as well!
Here, they serve free chips and salsa and give you huge portions. We all took a box home and ate leftovers for at least one more meal!
Oyhut Bay Bistro: Settled in a new neighborhood development, Oyhut Bay Bistro had an incredible menu and impressive upstairs bar.
This place is meant to be for a nice meal out, but luckily we came during happy hour so we got really good burgers and tuna bowls for CHEAP!
Ocean Beach Roasters: We went to this place a few times to edit photos and work on our computers. They serve incredible brunch, coffee, and pastries – you’ll want to stay here all day (and we almost did too, sorry Josh!).
Have you ever been to this part of the Washington Coast? What are some of your favorite things to do in Ocean Shores? Tell us in the comments below!
READ MORE PACIFIC NORTHWEST POSTS
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While visting in Ocean Shore we walked down Damon Pointe beach and saw Sea Lions swimming in the water, Dugans pizza is awesome!
Hi Jill! Thanks for reading our post! Next time we go to Ocean Shores, we’ll have to check out Damon Point beach ๐ Thanks for the suggestion!