The Long Beach Peninsula really IS Washington’s Best Kept Secret.

A consultant visited here once and did a goodly-sized survey to tell the tourism folks how people found the Peninsula.  After countless hours of research, the #1 recommendation that came out of the survey was (you’re gonna love this):

“Turn all your signs around backwards because most people find you by accident when they are lost.”

Man, I want that guy’s job.

Seriously though, the Peninsula is a little known secret, which is partly why it is so cool.  While towns to the south like Seaside, Cannon Beach and Astoria, Oregon, and towns to the north like Ocean Shores, WA were growing and developing their shorelines, this little spit of sand remained largely untouched by such developments.  The result is a miraculous 28-mile stretch of sand that really is the beach many of us remember from our childhoods.

Motels here don’t sit ON the beach.  There are protected dunes, with a fabulous system of footpath trails, created by families and visitors, which meander to the shore.  There are 5 State Parks and a part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park here, which means tons of open space and hiking trails–some with spectacular views.

Wildlife is exquisite.  I live less than half a mile from the center of downtown Long Beach.  I tend to be a night owl, so it isn’t uncommon for me to get home after dark.  Within the past several months, I’ve come home to deer, elk and a bear in my front yard.  City dwellers, don’t freak out on me.  They dash off as soon as I pull into the driveway.  It isn’t a dangerous thing.  It’s amazing and wonderful to cohabitate with wildlife and live so close to a downtown.  Don’t even get me started on the birds…. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing the pelicans return.

I suppose the point of this blog is to share my love of this place with others.  I want you to love it as much as I do so that those who find it treat it well and keep its charms.