Ocean Shores

History

The City of Ocean Shores occupies the Point Brown Peninsula on the Washington coast. Long before the arrival of European explorers and settlers, the peninsula was used by the various local tribes for trading and other purposes. The Chinook, Chehalis, and Quinault tribes used the area, as well as others that now make up the Quinault Indian Nation. On May 7, 1792, Captain Robert Gray sailed into the bay and named the area Bullfinch Harbor. Later, Captain George Vancouver renamed the area Grays Harbor after Captain Gray. The first established white settler on the Point was Matthew McGee, who settled in the early 1860s. He sold the southern portion of the peninsula to A.O. Damon in 1878 for a trading supply center whose dock extended into the Oyehut channel. A.O. Damon took over the entire peninsula from McGee, and the land was passed along to his grandson, Ralph Minard, who used the area as a cattle ranch from 1929 until he sold to the Ocean Shores Development Corporation in 1960 for $1,000,000. At the time the Washington State legislature was considering legalizing some forms of gambling. In expectation of a huge casino development, the Ocean Shores Development Corporation opened their sale of lots in a travel trailer parked in the dunes. Soon the word spread about the California-style development of the place called Ocean Shores. Lots began at $595 and were sold sight unseen from the first plat maps. As the numbers of lots sold rose, the prices rose. Property lots were staked and numbered only as the road construction crews began to lay out the massive road system. Even though the first roads were only in length, the downtown area had mercury vapor lights to show that this was a booming city. In the first year 25 homes were constructed and their owners had charter…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Ocean Shores experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with tendencies towards a Mediterranean (Köppen Csb), notably the pattern of a wetter winter and moderately drier summer. The climate is similar to nearby Aberdeen, situated slightly farther inland, but Ocean Shores experiences a narrower range of temperatures and is significantly less susceptible to extremes of heat in the summer, caused by hotter, inland air masses being pushed into the region.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  8,044
• Double-crested Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax auritus (Lesson, 1831) · Aves
  8,003
• Brown Pelican

  Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  7,069
• Western Gull

  Larus occidentalis Audubon, 1839 · Aves
  6,016
• California Gull

  Larus californicus Lawrence, 1854 · Aves
  5,930
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  5,894
• Surf Scoter

  Melanitta perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,637
• Common Loon

  Gavia immer (Brunnich, 1764) · Aves
  5,136

Most recent

• M 2.65 — 2025-12-19
  5 km WSW of Pe Ell, Washington
• M 2.84 — 2025-10-09
  21 km NW of Hoodsport, Washington
• M 2.84 — 2025-05-13
  25 km WNW of Hoodsport, Washington
• M 2.5 — 2025-03-28
  16 km NNE of Amanda Park, Washington
• M 2.74 — 2024-12-31
  7 km NNW of Montesano, Washington
• M 2.65 — 2024-09-12
  15 km NNW of Amanda Park, Washington