
Damon Point Beach at Ocean Shores is one of my favorite beaches to explore. Out toward the last half mile you will find many gravel beds. This has been my primary spot to locate agates for several years! I know, many of you will say that the Oregon coast has much better pickings and you'll be right. From my perspective, however, this beach is my best spot to find agates on the Washington coast!
My family has been regularly visiting Ocean Shores since about 2005 while we were enjoy the beach house owned by our friends in California. In the beginning I would walk the wide main beach on the west side of the Ocean Shores peninsula in search of colorful rocks and agates. This effort was usually not well rewarded since the western main beach is typically covered in fine sand year round. Then one Thanksgiving while visiting the Ocean Shores annual craft show in the convention center a vendor told me about Damon Point and my hunting ground was changed forever!
Damon Point is a long 2 1/4 mile spit of sand that flows southeasterly out into the mouth of Grays Harbor. This is precisely why Damon Point accumulates a good quantity of agates and other rocks on it's shores. It sits conveniently in the middle of the harbor catching the gems as they are washed out and back by the surf.
Directions: From Hoquiam, drive SR 109 west to SR 115, the turn-off to Ocean Shores. Go south on SR 115 until you reach Point Brown Avenue in Ocean Shores. Proceed south on Point Brown Avenue about 4.5 miles. The entrance is just past a big abandoned hotel and RV campground. Park off the road on the wide grassy area. Go left (east) past a port-a-potty to reach the spit to Damon Point.
I park along the roadway at the end of Marine View Dr. There is a short walk (280 ft.) along an asphalt road that leads down to the beach. From there, my focus is to walk two miles out toward the point before you get to the good gravel beds where the best pickings are located.
Directions: From Hoquiam, drive SR 109 west to SR 115, the turn-off to Ocean Shores. Go south on SR 115 until you reach Point Brown Avenue in Ocean Shores. Proceed south on Point Brown Avenue about 4.5 miles. The entrance is just past a big abandoned hotel and RV campground. Park off the road on the wide grassy area. Go left (east) past a port-a-potty to reach the spit to Damon Point.

Agates: In my estimation the most valuable gem stone found on Damon Point is the agate. Agates on Damon Point are characterized by variable colors. They are found along the shore after a high tide and embedded in the sand or gravel beds toward the end of the point. The inclusions on the gem's surface help identify it to a scanning beachcomber. They also are quite bright while lying in a grayish tan rock bed. Their glass like appearance causes them to stand out among the rest of the rocks. So, when a beachcomber comes upon a typical agate the moment of eye contact is quite thrilling. The gravel beds at the end of Damon Point are so extensive that recovery of agates is quite easy on a typical day. My pattern of combing, however, is to arrive on the beach just after sun up to capture newly beached or uncovered gems after a night of tumbling and tide cycles.
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