Seabrook Family Beach Vacation on the Washington Coast

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Published on Friday, July 27, 2012 01:07

Written by SpecialNeeds TravelingMom

Recently we had an opportunity to visit Seabrook, a planned beach community on the Washington coast.  This was a girls-only getaway, just myself, my two daughters and a friend. All teens - was I crazy? Maybe.

After driving out to the coast, winding through Aberdeen and Hoquium, then north toward Moclips through small communities and past older motels, I became a little apprehensive about what were going to find at Seabrook. Would it really be as good as the website? But as we rounded the corner and Seabrook came into view, it exceeded my expectations. The community has almost 250 beautifully built cottages in a quaint neighborhood setting with a pool, fire pits and open spaces designed for a variety of activities that even teens will enjoy. A short walk takes you to the beach to for long walks, wave jumping and gorgeous sunsets.



Seabrook Cottages

The cottages in Seabrook are all individually owned, custom-built for the owner, over half of them are available for rent.  There are cottages to accommodate any size family, including two that are ADA compliant. Here’s a tour of the cottage we stayed in.  

Places to Eat at Seabrook

Currently there is one restaurant and a small grocery store in Seabrook, with plans to expand. I was pleasantly surprised by these options. The restaurant, named Mill 109 is family-friendly, cozy, and offers fabulous food. Everything is fresh and high-quality. The house made clam chowder is among the best chowders we’ve had. Even if you are just driving the coast, plan on stopping in for a meal, you won’t be disappointed. 


Lil’s Pantry is Seabrook’s grocery store. You can call them ahead with a grocery order and your bungalow will be fully stocked upon your arrival. Nice! Although Lil’s pantry is small, there is a good selection of the basics, so don’t worry about forgetting marshmallows for s’mores or ketchup for burgers. They also have a lot of gourmet items; fresh pasta, hand-scooped gelato, fine wines, sauces and sweets. Being the Pacific Northwest, Lil’s Pantry also has an in-store espresso bar featuring different kinds of milks if you have dairy allergies and wonderful coffee.


Things to Do in Seabrook

There are a lot of things for families to do in Seabrook,my 3 teens had a blast – even with limited cell service – definitely high praise. Aside from the beach, we spent time at the indoor pool and hot tub, rented bikes to cruise the neighborhood, played games, watched movies, went on walks and built our own beach fire for s’mores. There are several play areas, including a playground, shuffle board, bocce ball, soccer and volleyball areas. Equipment is available in the bike rental tent. Other community areas had fire pits with wood stacked and ready to go, and large picnic tables. There is also a pottery painting studio.

Accessibility

Seabrook was established in 2004 and built with current ADA regulations. There are sidewalks with curb cuts on many streets, roads without sidewalks have shallow crushed shell paths, in those areas we walked on the road with no problem.  Visit my web site to read my full accessibility review.


Beach Access

I couldn’t wait to check out was the beach when we arrived at Seabrook. At first I was disappointed to find a very, very long flight of stairs down to the beach. I went into the rental office to ask about beach accessibility and they had a great answer: Just about a mile up the road is Pacific Beach State Park where you can drive on the beach. In Washington State, many beaches are considered part of the state highway system, something that I found out as kid riding my unlicensed mini-bike on the beach, but that’s another story…

The girls and I drove on the beach, taking care to stay on the packed sand – this was the first time I’d driven on the beach and I was NOT going to get stuck. We built a fire. In the wind. By ourselves. Girl power!


Driving on the beach was far better than trying to traverse the soft sand with my daughter’s push chair, and having all of our stuff easily available was a bonus.

We had so much fun exploring Seabrook. We stayed in a nice cottage, rented bikes, had a beach fire, swam in the pool, did a little shopping, slept in, and just relaxed. This would be a great place to visit with a group of friends. V, my youngest with special needs, smiled the whole time. We’re looking forward to a return trip!

Disclaimer: Our stay was provided by Seabrook for review. The opinions and experiences are our own.

Karin Sheets is a techie, travel writer and mother of two teens, one of them with special needs. She encourages all families to live the adventure of life. Her personal blog is www.specialneedstravelmom.com and you can follow her @ionMyAdventures on Twitter or www.facebook.com/SpecialNeedsTravelMom.