Terrible beaches in most of the country, if your standard is based on what you find in a travel brochure.
People are always shocked to find out that most WA and OR beaches are designated highways - and then they get there and see them it makes plenty of sense. Km on km of beach with fuck all there, 500m of dune covered in razor grass between you and the houses, occasional 1-inch fjords, the nice soft bits near the dunes sometimes have pits of quicksand, and the whole thing is you-have-to-shout windy and fucking FREEZING. And then theres how shit the beach itself is, which once you get past the dune areas (not highway, precious and beautiful ecology) is just several hundred meters of hard-packed sand or outright gravel and then blump. Ocean.
The nice bits of beach are all protected from vehicle traffic, the parts where you get good surfing waves or scenic vistas or are near a population center, but the vast majority of the coast is only ever visited to dig up clams or blow up dead whales.
Terrible beaches in most of the country, if your standard is based on what you find in a travel brochure.
People are always shocked to find out that most WA and OR beaches are designated highways - and then they get there and see them it makes plenty of sense. Km on km of beach with fuck all there, 500m of dune covered in razor grass between you and the houses, occasional 1-inch fjords, the nice soft bits near the dunes sometimes have pits of quicksand, and the whole thing is you-have-to-shout windy and fucking FREEZING. And then theres how shit the beach itself is, which once you get past the dune areas (not highway, precious and beautiful ecology) is just several hundred meters of hard-packed sand or outright gravel and then blump. Ocean.
The nice bits of beach are all protected from vehicle traffic, the parts where you get good surfing waves or scenic vistas or are near a population center, but the vast majority of the coast is only ever visited to dig up clams or blow up dead whales.