Razor Clamming at Long Beach
Billed as the longest beach in the world, the Long Beach Peninsula offers about as much room to dig as any razor clam beach in Washington. With 28 miles of wide, flat sand and a string of small coastal towns along its length, it's a destination anglers plan entire weekends around, not just a single low tide. From Ilwaco to Oysterville, the peninsula has enough lodging, dining, and open beach to accommodate crowds without ever feeling cramped, making it one of the most welcoming spots on the coast for a multi-day clamming trip.
Where is Long Beach
Long Beach extends roughly 28 miles along the Pacific coast from the mouth of the Columbia River north to the entrance of Willapa Bay, occupying the entire outer edge of the Long Beach Peninsula in Pacific County. The peninsula is dotted with small, laid-back coastal communities, including Ilwaco near the southern end, the town of Long Beach itself, Ocean Park, Klipsan Beach, and Oysterville toward the north, each offering its own flavor of lodging, dining, and beach access. The area has a classic, old-fashioned beach town feel, home to an annual kite festival and long a hub for oyster harvesting in Willapa Bay alongside its razor clam fishery.
From Seattle, reaching Long Beach takes roughly 3 to 3.5 hours, generally down I-5 to Longview or Kelso before heading west on Highway 4 along the Columbia River, or via Highway 101 through Aberdeen and South Bend. It's one of the longer drives among Washington's coastal razor clam beaches, but the peninsula's abundance of hotels, seaside cabins, and restaurants makes it easy to turn the trip into a full weekend rather than rushing back the same day.
Long Beach Map
Best Long Beach Access Points
Because Long Beach runs the length of an entire peninsula, there are several public, maintained access points spread along its 28 miles, generally located near each coastal community. Popular access points are Seaview Beach approach, Sid Snyder Beach Approach in Long Beach, Bolstad Avenue Beach Approach in Long Beach, Cranberry Road Beach Approach in Oceanside, Klipsan Beach Approach, Bay Avenue Beach Approach in Ocean Park, and Oysterville Beach Approach. Vehicular access is permitted at these sites unless otherwise posted. A quarter-mile razor clam reserve, closed to all harvesting, sits beginning 2.8 miles north of the Oysterville approach and extending north from there, so pay attention to posted markers in that stretch. Given the beach's length, picking an access point near the town you're staying in, or near the specific stretch you plan to dig, is generally more efficient than trying to cover a lot of ground in one visit.
Digging Razor Clams on a sunny spring day.
Long Beach Clamming Seasons and Rules
Razor clam season on the Washington coast generally runs from fall through early spring, with the best digging tied to minus-tide series when WDFW opens the beach based on tide schedules and marine toxin testing. Long Beach and Twin Harbors are typically open on every date within an approved digging series, unlike Copalis and Mocrocks, which alternate open days between each other, making Long Beach one of the more consistently open beaches once a series is confirmed. All diggers age 16 or older need a valid Washington shellfish license for the current license year, which runs April 1 through March 31, available online through WDFW, via the MyWDFW mobile app, or from statewide license dealers; buying one before arriving on the peninsula is strongly recommended, and clam guns can also be rented locally for visitors who don't want to bring their own. The daily limit is 15 clams per digger, and every digger must keep the first 15 clams they dig regardless of size or condition, so nothing dug can be tossed back once it's out of the sand. Each digger's clams must be kept in a separate container. Both WDFW's season approval and current Washington Department of Health guidance on domoic acid, a naturally occurring marine toxin, need to align before any stretch of Long Beach is actually safe and legal to dig, and seasons can open or close quickly depending on test results, so checking current status close to your trip date matters. WDFW Razor Clam Seasons and Beaches
Heading out to the tide line during an evening dig.
How to Dig Razor Clams
At low tide, look for a "show," the small dimple, dome, or keyhole-shaped indentation in the wet sand that reveals a clam sitting just below the surface. Razor clams sense vibration and dig down fast once disturbed, so a light footstep and a quick dig just beside the show, rather than stomping around or digging straight down on top of it, gives you the best shot at bringing one up intact. Many diggers prefer a clam gun, a metal or PVC tube pushed straight down around the show and pulled back out to bring up a core of sand with the clam inside, since it's gentler on the clam and easier on the back than repeated shovel digging, especially across a long, open beach like this one.
Gear You Need for Digging Razor Clams
At a minimum, bring a valid shellfish license, a shovel or clam gun, and a bucket or mesh bag to hold your catch, keeping each digger's clams separated as required. Waterproof, grippy gloves make handling a sandy shovel handle easier, and waterproof rubber boots or hip and chest waders are worth having given how much time you'll spend standing in wet sand. Coastal weather can turn quickly, so layers, a warm hat, and a rain shell are smart additions, and a headlamp or flashlight is essential for the evening low-tide digs common earlier in the season. If you'd rather not travel with a clam gun, local shops on the peninsula rent them, making Long Beach one of the easier destinations for visitors without their own gear.
Driving on the Beach
Vehicles are permitted on most of Long Beach, part of what makes it famous as one of the longest drivable beaches anywhere, but Washington law still requires drivers to stay on the hard-packed sand near the high tide line rather than the softer, dry sand closer to the dunes. When in doubt, following existing tire tracks is the safest bet. The posted speed limit on the beach is 25 mph, and vehicles should only enter and exit at designated public access points. Given the sheer length of this beach, it's especially important to keep an eye on tide timing so you're not caught driving a long stretch of sand as the water comes back in. Violating beach driving laws can result in fines, with steeper penalties for incidents involving protected wildlife such as nesting snowy plovers, which are known to nest along parts of the peninsula's northern reaches, so watch for posted closures around sensitive habitat.
Holding up her very first Razor Clam, well done!
Other Clamming Info
Long Beach's peninsula offers plenty beyond clamming, including Cape Disappointment State Park at the southern tip, with its lighthouses and Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, and Leadbetter Point State Park at the northern end, a major shorebird migration site where seasonal closures protect nesting snowy plovers each spring and summer. The town of Long Beach also hosts one of the world's largest kite festivals each August, and Oysterville remains a great stop for fresh oysters between digs. Because razor clam populations and digging opportunity can vary meaningfully from year to year based on WDFW's summer population assessments, checking the current razor clam webpage before planning a trip is the best way to know both what's open and how much opportunity that season actually offers. With its record-setting length, dependable access, and full slate of nearby attractions, Long Beach remains one of the most complete razor clamming destinations in the state.
Check out our other Washington Razor Clam Beaches: Mocrocks, Twin Harbors and Copalis.
