Westport
Welcome to the South Beach!
Westport, Grayland, North Cove and Tokeland are collectively called the South Beach. This area, also referred to as the Cranberry Coast, is on the south side of Grays Harbor, easily accessible from Puget Sound to the north and Portland to the south. Westport is renowned for its fishing, but there is more. All the charm of fishing villages, cranberry bogs, beach combing, kite flying, charter fishing, and whale watching are at your doorstep. There are countless fun activities and beaches to explore during every season of the year. Go-karts, bowling, an aquarium, bike rentals, entertain anyone with a sense of fun. The variety of restaurants, from decadent to down-home, offers all kinds of cuisine, with seafood at the freshest you'll ever find. Tops on anyone's list are the 18 miles of pristine ocean beaches that offer sand and surf, seashells and sand dollars, shorebirds and sunsets. Storm watch in the winter, sunbathe in the summer, or just pull up a drift log and take in all the natural beauty.
Westport's Marina District has a charming waterfront promenade. A Viewing tower provides great views of the harbor, ocean and beaches. Look for whales and brown pelicans along the way! Westport offers a challenging, cold water surfing experience. There are local surf shops that offer gear, rentals and lessons, as well as advice and local surfing lore. Westport hosts several surfing competitions throughout the year.
The Historic Maritime Museum is located in the former U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboat Station Grays Harbor in the Marina District. This former Nantucket-style station offers displays on local history and industries, life-saving activity, shipwrecks, and more. The Destruction Island Lens exhibit affords visitors a unique opportunity to see an operating first-order Fresnel lighthouse lens. The glass fronted building of the whale exhibit contains skeletons of whales, seals, porpoises and other marine mammals. The Gray's Harbor Lighthouse at 107 feet is the tallest in Washington State and the second tallest on the entire West Coast. It has been guiding mariners into the harbor for over 100 years. A scenic mile and a half paved history trail links the Grays Harbor lighthouse with the marina district.