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Travel & Outdoors

Sun on a Beach

Show us the sand, we'll bring the flippy-floppies.

Allison Williams
Author: Allison Williams
Less than 1 min.read

Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park

Is this summer kidding? Forget Seattle’s sometimes-fickle Julys, this one’s a corker. There are beaches in, say, California or Hawaii…but what about something within driving distance? Here’s our six favorite stretches of sand (or rock):

• Second Beach in Vancouver. Inside the excellent Stanley Park, and with a large heated outdoor pool.

• Alki Beach in Seattle. Close to downtown, on the bus system, and featuring a mini Statue of Liberty. U! S! A!

• Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island. It’s a bluff-top hike, then a quiet beach full of Northwest driftwood.

• Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park in Renton. If you have kids, plop them into Lake Washington and take a detour to Bird Island.

• Long Beach near Willapa Bay. Marinas and markets, boardwalks and a beach you can drive on.

 What’s your favorite Washington beach?




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Allison Williams
Allison Williams
Since joining Seattle Met in 2011, Allison Williams has overseen the magazine’s travel and outdoor coverage, including deep dives into Olympic National Park, the Columbia River, and a Burger King drive-thru in Canada. She edits the travel-focused blog Tripster and contributes service, news, interview, and narrative pieces to the magazine, including long-form features about mountain mysteries and puppies in prison. She’s earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and been nominated for a City and Regional Magazine award.  Allison was raised here in Olympia and studied writing at Duke University, Oxford University, Columbia Journalism School, and University of Alaska. She began her career in New York City in the newsrooms of Metro newspaper and Time Out New York, then hightailed it back to her native habitat so she could write guidebooks and climb mountains.