Olympic Peninsula Trip - Ocean Shores

For the final leg of our trip, we stayed in the touristy beach town of Ocean Shores on the south end of the Olympic Peninsula. We camped at the Ocean City Park Campground, which unfortunately turned out to be one of our worst camping experiences. First, there was a burn ban, so we couldn’t have a campfire or use the wood we had purchased in advance. Second, we got rained on two nights in a row. And third, the campsite was plagued by mosquitoes, which made things miserable outside the tent or car.

Fortunately, the beach at Ocean Shores is drivable, so we were able to pack everything we needed for the day and set up camp on the sand. It was overcast, so there wasn’t much to see, but the sound of the waves made for a relaxing day. We flew kites with mixed success: Vivian’s traditional kite went up easily and stayed airborne for over an hour, while my new sport kite proved difficult to control and suffered many crashes. We’ll never forget our time at Ocean Shores—mostly due to the endless amounts of sand tracked into Jamie’s minivan, some of which still remains today.

On our way home, we stopped to visit Jamie’s parents, who were camping long-term at Potlatch on the south end of Hood Canal. Rachel went paddle boarding on the water and met a few seals along the way. After lunch and some rock painting, we were back on the road, bringing a close to a memorable loop trip around the Olympic Peninsula.