Damon Point State Park - Washington

Park overview:

Damon Point, a 61-acre day-use park, is the southeastern tip of the Ocean Shores Peninsula. The park consists of a one-mile-long, half-mile-wide stretch of land jutting out into the sea. Damon Point is a textbook example of accreted land, and is one of the few remaining nesting sites of the snowy plover.

Driving Directions

Located in the town of Ocean Shores, Wash., on the Pacific Coast in Grays Harbor County.

From Hoquiam:

Take SR 109 and SR 115 to Point Brown Ave. in the town of Ocean Shores. Proceed south on Point Brown Ave. through town, approximately 4.5 miles. Just past the marina, turn left into park entrance.

Park Features

This park features a one-mile walkable strip of land to the end of Damon Point, the southeastern tip of the Ocean Shores Peninsula. It offers spectacular views of Grays Harbor, the Olympic Mountains, and Mount Rainier. The point contains one of the few remaining nesting sites of the snowy plover, and is a textbook example of accreted land and natural plant selection. This is a popular site for bird watching and agate rock collecting.

History

Beginning in 1925, the S.S. Catala plied the Canadian coastal waters carrying miners, loggers and adventurers. The Catala was retired in 1958 and was used as a floating hotel at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle and also at Ocean Shores in 1963. A winter storm grounded the ship at Damon Point in 1965, and sand accreted around the rusting relic, eventually burying it.

Activities

Fishing (saltwater) - Clamming - Crabbing - Beachcombing - Bird Watching - Wildlife Viewing

Rock collecting is also a popular activity, as is the one-mile hike to the tip of the point.

There is room for six vehicles to park just outside the park entrance. Past this point, vehicles may not proceed (due to road washout). Visitors, however, may enter the gate and walk the road to the end of the point.

Events

Full list of events at Washington State Parks

Picnic and Day-use Facilities

The park has five unsheltered picnic tables with no dump station availability. Visitors are expected to pack their garbage out when they leave. Picnic sites are first come, first served.

Wildlife

Rabbits, Crows or Ravens, Ducks, Eagles, Geese, Gulls, Hawks, Herons, Ospreys, Owls, Wrens, Sea Birds, Seals, Whales, Perch, Salmon

Environmental Features

The point is a textbook example of accreted land. Accretion, the opposite of erosion, occurs when sand accumulates over the years, forming land where there was none.

Spruce, Foxglove, Lupines, Moss or Lichens, Seaweed

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