Ocean Shores, WA

undertow · Since 15 Feb 2008 371 Posts BeaversBurg Obsessed

I know this has been posted before, getting a jump on the winter kiting, Whats the lowdown on Ocean Shores WA, Places to stay? Launches? Best winds and time of year?

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1734 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

seattle riders love this spot.
better known as damon point. you cannot find a better flat water spot for winter time riding in the NW. wave action on the outside of the point.
its probably just as close for PDXers as it is for the puget sounders.
go to pskite.org and check out the upper right corner under "kite beaches" section for all the good info.
taken from pskite beaches page...

Damon Point
Great for winter kiting on NE, E and ESE winds on the inside of the bay at the southeast part of the Ocean Shores peninsula. It’s a beginner friendly spot on mid to low tide with long sandy beach though be careful with on-shore winds. High tide increases launching/landing hazards: due to no beach watch for rocks, logs, bushes & proximity of the rock jetty. Most of the time it’s a smooth wind and fairly flat water kiting. If the wind turns too southerly it gets holey and gusty on the inside. Walk over to the south shore of the peninsula for kiting some waves on southerly winds.

It blows primarily early in the morning and dies off early afternoon though on occasion it’s windy all day long. If Tatoosh Is and Columbia River Bar sensors on iKitesurf show easterly in high teens or better and Hoquiam sensor registers east in low teens you are likely to get 20+ mph wind at Damon. Grays Harbor Shore Conditions Information Line (360 268 1444) would give you most accurate update, but unfortunately tide and weather information is currently unavailable. All-n-all it’s a fun place with a bathroom at the parking lot to change out of the wind.

There is a campground right there with boat launch and easy walk to launch beaches. Great for RV with hookups, not very nice for tenting. It rarely fills up exept summer holiday weekends. Almost deserted any time but summer.

undertow · Since 15 Feb 2008 371 Posts BeaversBurg Obsessed

Thanks for the info Stringy, definitely gonna hit it up this winter!

nickdward · Since 11 Aug 2008 130 Posts Seattle Stoked

Great spot. Most of the time I camp in the RV park right there at the launch...well not anymore now that an excellent PS kiter buddy moved there.

there are hotels all along Ocean Shores within 5 minutes of Damon Point. They're pretty cheap in the winter time too.

Any kind of southerly forecast of 15-25 or better will be good. Waves inside there are much smaller than the swell suggests since it wraps into Gray's Harbor. You can ride out on the Ocean Shores side for more exposed waves if its a small swell, or in Gray's Harbor for more protection if it's huge.

Like stringy said, DP also has excellent flat water too.