Discovery Trail (Long Beach)

Long Beach is a town in Southwestern Washington, about 3.5 hours from Seattle and near the estuary of the Columbia River. The first time we stayed there in 2017 we stuck mostly to the boardwalk in town along the beach. This time we made our way out to Cape Disappointment State Park and cruised a number of accessible trails (check out more about the North Head Lighthouse and Bell’s View trails here.) We figured out that you can walk, roll or bike all the way from the park to the north end of Long Beach. There’s also a spur of the trail that goes to the town of Illwaco but it’s not paved and appears to get muddy and steep in sections.

We recommend the section of the trail that goes from Beard’s Hollow to the beach (see below). There are various options for cruising along the beach near town: the paved Discovery Trail, the wood boardwalk which rises up over the sand dunes, and the beach itself, which has hard-packed sand and thus is also friendly to wheelchair riding (though maybe not in a powerchair).

Key stats:

Distance: The trail is 7 miles long from Cape Disappointment state park to the Lewis and Clark Carved Tree near the 26th St. N on Long Beach.

Wheelchair accessible parking? Yes

Wheelchair accessible bathrooms? Yes

Trail condition? Paved and wide, well maintained. Potentially steep in sections. The boardwalk is a little bumpy but also a pretty smooth role.

Highlights? The Beard’s Hollow section weaves through swamp and ponds on a flat, paved path to the beach. The clouds tend to be spectacular around Long Beach and the wind can also be intense — it’s known to be one of the kite flying capitals of the Northwest which we always take advantage of. Finally, the birds and wildlife are amazing. We saw multiple deer and eagles up close, not to mention a herd of elk on the way out of town.

More information about the Discovery Trail here and download a map here.

Beard’s Hollow section: