TAKE A STEP BACK IN TIME AT LONG BEACH PENINSULA
By Lauren Kramer

Long Beach Peninsula, Washington State, is the place you dream about when you imagine quiet walks along a seemingly endless shoreline, serene, ocean-inspired meals and blissful silence but for the whoosh of the waves. This 28-mile tongue of land, six hours' drive from Vancouver, is cradled by the Pacific Ocean, Willapa Bay and the Columbia River. It binds a handful of sleepy communities that feel lost in time and almost completely unchanged over the years. Come for the soothing melody of the ocean, the joy of biking through sand dunes with the wind in your hair and the exhilaration of forest hikes to jaw-dropping vistas.

We checked in at Adrift Hotel, a beach-side property that offers complimentary beach bikes, an irresistible way to explore the coastline. We took to the Discovery Trail, an eight-mile paved bike path that winds through the sand dunes, past bright yellow bursts of fireweed, alongside dune grass blowing in the wind and sandpipers scurrying close to the shoreline.

With beach views that make your heart soar, Long Beach Peninsula is a back-to-nature destination that's all about long walks, great seafood meals, peace and solitude

We stopped at the peninsula's southern-most hamlet, Ilwaco, for lunch and a salty cucumber cocktail at the Salt Hotel & Pub, a cute, harborside restaurant where the ahi tuna on the tacos is reeled in straight from the waters offshore. Stroll along the harbor and it's easy to tell that fishing is Ilwaco's main attraction. Starting in May sturgeon and salmon fishing charters depart daily from the port, taking avid anglers out in search of a great catch.

While there isn't much shopping on the peninsula, the majority of retailers are situated along Long Beach's colorful Pacific avenue and we drifted around the galleries, gift shops and souvenir stores. Our favorite was Marsh's Free Museum, a one-of-a-kind store that combines seaside curios with a collection of preserved animal heads, unusual antiques and photographs of the area from bygone days. Like most of the shops on the peninsula, this one has an undeniably quirky personality.

The beaches of Cape Disappointment State Park are legendary on a calm day, but the history of fierce storms and shipwrecks in this vicinity has claimed many seafarers' lives.

You can't visit the peninsula without heading to Cape Disappointment State Park, named by Captain Meares in 1788, when he failed to cross the bar where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. A notoriously dangerous crossing, it's a place where millions of gallons of fresh water collide with ocean swells, creating waves that reach heights of 40 feet. Thanks to dense fog, fierce currents and a shallow, shifting sandbar some 2,000 vessels have sunk here since 1792, earning it the nickname ‘the graveyard of the Pacific.' One of the many picturesque beaches at the park, Dead Man's Cove, earned its name because of the sailors' bodies that would wash up on its shores.

It's easy to find a beach all to yourself in Cape Disappointment State Park. This one, named Dead Man's Cove, is surrounded by forest and a narrow ocean passage sheltered by steep cliffs on either side.

There's a fabulous array of forest hikes at Cape Disappointment, with trails that lead uphill to its two lighthouses, and down towards the sand dunes and the beach. On the coastal forest loop trail the sheer girth of trees at least 200-to-300 years old is compelling, while the hike past Dead Man's Cove to Cape Disappointment lighthouse has a series of spectacular scenic overlooks, each one more spellbinding and uplifting than the one before it.

For our second night we slept at the Shelburne Hotel in Seaview, the oldest hotel in continuous operation in the state. With its wood-paneled walls, stained glass windows and original claw foot tubs, the Shelburne's 15 rooms date back to 1896 and have been lovingly preserved and restored. After dinner we talk to Seaview Beach for a spectacular sunset walk and sampled Adrift Distiller's delectable cranberry liqueur before slipping into a blissful sleep. We returned home sweetly soothed by the quiet beauty and undisputable charm of the peninsula. Really, a weekend here is all the time you need to calm your soul.

__________________________________________

Travel Writers' Tales is an independent newspaper syndicate that offers professionally written travel articles to newspaper editors and publishers. To check out more, visit www.travelwriterstales.com

IF YOU GO:

  Well situated and distinctly charming, Adrift Hotel ( www.adrifthotel.com ) and Shelburne Hotel ( www.shelburnehotelwa.com ) are great places to overnight on the Peninsula.

Do explore Cape Disappointment State Park ( https://parks.state.wa.us/486/Cape-Disappointment ) by taking in at least one hike, checking out the beaches and driving the park's winding roads.

Visitlongbeachpeninsula.com is a great travel resource.

PHOTOS: by Lauren Kramer