13 Things to Do in Seabrook, WA Beach Town

You probably want to know about the things to do in Seabrook, WA if you’re not familiar with this Washington coast town. When I discover a new vacation spot, I want to know all the details before I book so I can ensure it’s a place I’d actually enjoy.

Well, consider this your ultimate guide to determining if visiting Seabrook should be on your travel list. I go every year with my family and have learned the pros and cons of using this beach town as a home base for exploring the Washington coast.

Read on to learn everything there is to know, including things to do in Seabrook, WA, where to stay, pros and cons, and the history of this quaint community.

Things to Do in Seabrook, WA

Seabrook is about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Seattle. It’s located along the central Washington coast, situated on land that was owned by the Quinault tribe for thousands of years before being signed over to settlers in mid 1800s. Olympic National Park and the area currently owned by the Quinaults are within about an hour’s drive north.

About Seabrook

Seabrook itself is a small Washington coast town with about 500 homes and 12 businesses perched 70 feet above Pacific Beach. It was created by Casey Roloff around 2005, who wanted to create an urbanist community similar to what you find when staying on the Oregon coast.

Urbanist developments are designed to be walkable to promote sustainability and community, which you’ll definitely find in this quiet and safe neighborhood (seriously, it’s a treat to be able to leave your bike in the front yard without worrying about theft!). So even though you need to drive to Seabrook, what makes it special is the walkability once you’re there. Most people keep their cars parked for the duration of their trip and get around on bike, scooter, or foot.

The homes are new builds, but they’re all unique and styled like a farmhouse or colonial home you may have seen decades ago. There are about 50% full-time Seabrook residents, with the other half of homes being used for vacation rentals.

Seabrook weather

In terms of weather, Seabrook doesn’t typically get as warm as Seattle. The average highs in the summer are in the 60-70s, with it often getting into the 50s at night. So this means while you may definitely have days where you’re comfortable running around in your bathing suit, definitely bring a sweatshirt and pants to the beach. I often wear a heavy sweatshirt and leggings on the beach to stay warm.

Seabrook amenities

As far as amenities go, you’ll find a small main street with shops, restaurants, and an arcade. There are also two pools (one indoors), a gym, outdoor recreational games and playgrounds, a town hall, fire pits, horseshoe pits, mountain bike trails, and sport courts like basketball, tennis, pickleball, and bocce ball. If you have an electric car, there are also charging stations for a fee. For those who need help getting around town, there is a shuttle service.

The town also has a relatively large grocery store with reasonable-ish prices, but my family typically does our big shopping trip at the Safeway in Aberdeen, the closest main town you pass through to get to Seabrook from Seattle.

In terms of gas, there isn’t any in Seabrook. You & I Market is the closest about 5 minutes north of Seabrook. And if you ever need a mailbox, which I found I needed one year, we didn’t see any in Seabrook. Instead we drove to the post office in Copalis Beach about 15 minutes south. We didn’t realize there was one 3 minutes north of Seabrook, whoops!

Seabrook accommodations

There aren’t any hotels directly in Seabrook. Instead, you can rent out cottages through Seabrook’s official website. You can find dog-friendly homes of all sizes and most have hot tubs. My annual family vacation here consists of 5 adults, 2 kids, and one dog. We’re always able to find homes where everyone has a bed.

The town is split into about nine neighborhoods. The Farm District is near a small enclosure with a few horses and is farthest from the beach (about a 15-minute walk). The others are closer to the town and beach, so if location is important to you make sure you find a vacation rental in those areas.

If you don’t want to stay right in Seabrook, you can stay in Ocean Shores about 30 minutes south. However, this area is more run down and doesn’t have the quaint beach town vibe that Seabrook does.

Must-do activities in Seabrook, WA

Now that you have your bearings, let’s talk about what to do in Seabrook. Or, if your eyes are glazing over from researching, let me build you a custom vacation itinerary!

Lounge at the beach and pool

Since Seabrook is a quaint Washington beach town, obviously the best thing to do is lounge on the beach! It’s right on Pacific Beach, which is large and offers sweeping coastline views in both directions.

Seabrook is built on top of a small cliff, so you need to walk down stairs to get to the beach. Or if you’re staying near Gnome Trail in the town, you can take a relatively flat trail to the beach (minus a sorta steep beginning of the trail for a hundred or so feet).

The beach is not wheelchair accessible and my dad has trouble with it. My sister even needed to get a backpack for her aging English bulldog because it can no longer make the journey. So be ready for a bit of exercise to get to the beach, especially if you are in the Farm District.

Despite the effort, I love how big and not crowded the Seabrook beach is. My family and I bring the dog, beach chairs, kites, softballs, pales, cooler, and a football to spend the day. Most of the cottage rentals will have chairs, toys, umbrellas, and towels so you don’t have to worry about packing them.

Your other option for lounging is the pool. There’s an indoor one for when there’s crappy weather, but my favorite is the heated outdoor pool and hot tub that’s connected to the gym. It gets crowded so you may have to lurk for a lounge chair to open up, but once you snag one it’s a relaxing way to spend a few hours.

Explore the shops and Saturday market

There’s a small market in downtown Seabrook every Saturday from late June through August. There are about 20 vendors selling local crafts and Pacific Northwest food gifts.

Since the market is small, I find this is the best time to also pop into the few shops that line the street. My favorite shops are Seaworthy Home and Mr. Walrus. Both curate beautiful decor, Seaworthy with Washington beach town vibes and Mr. Walrus with mid mod flair. Even though my home is mid century, I always leave home with a little something something from both stores.

There are also a few other stores within 2 small blocks. You’ll find a women’s clothing store, men’s fashion store, outdoor surfer-style clothing store, Seabrook souvenir store, kids toy store, book store, pet store, and candy store. There’s also a candle-making store!

Grab a bite from a Seabrook restaurant

The dining out options are limited in Seabrook. As a result it’s more expensive than it should be. You’ll find a pizza restaurant, elevated pub, wine bar, Mexican restaurant, bakery, and smoothie/salad spot.

Here are the places my family frequent every year.

Koko’s Restaurant & Tequila Bar

website | 5 W Myrtle Ln | best for: burritos

My favorite restaurant in Seabrook is Koko’s. It took over the old Mill 109 Pub and is serving some seriously yummy Latin food. My favorites are the burrito gordo and poblano cashew enchiladas, but I’ve yet to find something bad here. Make a reservation because it gets crowded. Their website says they don’t take reservations, but I’ve called to make one for our party of 7 day of with no problem.

Pro tip: They also have a spot in Seattle if you love exploring Seattle Mexican restaurants.

Sweet Life

website | 215 S Meriweather St | best for: ice cream and candy

Ask my nieces what the best things to do in Seabrook, WA are and The Sweet Life will likely be their first answer, for obvious reasons. But if I’m being honest, I love it too. I’m a sucker for sour belts because I ate them growing up, so I was giddy as hell when I saw the colorful candy in jars lining the back wall behind the cash register. They don’t make their own ice cream, but it’s still good and a great treat on a hot day.

Blue Juice & Salad Bar

website | 217 Front Street | best for: avocado toast

Blue is a much welcome new addition to Seabrook. It’s a small breakfast and lunch spot serving smoothies, juices, salads, and toasts. I wish their smoothies were more substantial to replace a meal, but the flavors are pretty good.

The standout menu item is the avocado toast. It’s served with hardboiled eggs, sesame seeds, and agave. I’d never think to put a sweetener on this classic Millennial breakfast, but it’s pretty mind blowing.

Pro tip: I’ve also had an excellent lentil soup here. Get it if it’s available!

Vista Bakeshop

website | 202 S Meriweather St | best for: cookies & sugared cruffin

The bakery was opened by alums from Canlis, one of the best fine dining restaurants in Seattle. As a result I had pretty high hopes for this place.

Unfortunately I find their baked goods just ok. However, the sugared cruffin is excellent. It’s fluffy and has great flavor, so make sure this is part of your order! I also usually like their cookies, so get those too.

They also make pretty good sandwiches. All of them are unnecessarily greasy, but the flavors are good. The BLT and mortadella sandwiches are the best in my opinion. Be careful if you get the pesto and plan to bring it to the beach. It was so greasy the last time I got it that it leaked through the paper bag and got all over my beach stuff!

Pro tip: Vista Bakeshop has a Airstream truck near the gear rental place. It’s open Friday and Saturdays from 4 to 8 pm for coffee and beignets.

Rising Tide Tavern

website | 202 S Meriweather St | best for: loaded french fries

Rising Tide is a fancy gastropub owned by the same people behind Vista Bakeshop. The menu is hit or miss, but they have some yummy dishes if you know how to order.

The Caesar salad is a pretty good version of the classic and HUGE. I also think they make pretty good clam chowder, so I always get a cup. But the real standout is the loaded tavern fries.

They’re served with sidewinder fries, which are thick cut spirals kinda like a curly fry but with the flavor of a regular french fry. The addition of addictive queso, bacon, sour cream, and chives make these irresistibly comforting. Consider getting more than one order if your crew is large!

Pro tip: Rising Tide also has a food cart outside that serves Hawaiian food for lunch and dinner. The mochiko chicken is often comically disappointing, but the katsu and garlic shrimp especially are good.

Frontager’s Pizza

website | 21 Seabrook Ave | best for: stromboli

We make most of our meals at the rental cottage, but Frontager’s used to be the one restaurant my nieces always request we eat at during our trip. Luckily they’ve moved on and we don’t go anymore.

I’ll be honest, I don’t love this place. The restaurant is slow and the pizza is pretty mediocre. However, it’s wildly popular because kids love pizza.

If you want dinner, order takeout about 1.5 hours before you want it. They usually stop taking orders for pick up by 7 pm, so I suggest ordering by 5:30 pm. You can sit inside or in their outdoor patio for lunch or dinner, but expect to wait for a seat and also your food. It’s just so, so slow.

Lastly, if you do dine in, get the stromboli. I find this better then their pizzas.

Pro tip: They have a pizza cart near the beer garden in the newer Fernwood district. There used to be a beer garden in downtown, but that’s since been changes to a small roller skating rink for kids.

Build a home in the gnome forest

While you’re at the beach, don’t forget to collect shells and other curiosities if you have kids. They can use these to build gnome homes in Gnome Forest. It’s a woody spot along Gnome Trail where children build elaborate homes. This is one of my nieces’ favorite things to do in Seabrook, WA, so if you have kids make sure to save time for this!

Get pampered at the spa

One of my favorite things to do in Seabrook, WA is unwind at the end of the trip with a massage. There’s a small spa in downtown Seabrook called Spa Elizabeth that has the cutest seating area for guests to relax.

I really enjoy the massages here. They aren’t the cheapest, starting at $165, but I was massaged in placed I’d never been massaged before. The therapist went between the bones on the top of my foot and between each rib along my back, both of which provided such relaxation. I even got some hot stone action, despite not paying extra for it!

They also have a spa boutique on the ground floor, but treatments happen upstairs. They’re accessed by a separate door around the corner from the boutique so the space is private and free of shoppers for spa guests.

Enjoy wine sans the kids

My ultimate day would include getting a massage at Spa Elizabeth, then heading to The Stowaway Wine Bar. It’s a 21+ wine bar where you can get snacks and wine bottles, glasses, or flights. As someone always on the hunt for the best Washington wines, so I love how this place curates exclusively from the best Pacific Northwest wineries.

More of a beer drinker? There’s a beer garden in the Fernwood District that allows kids.

Bike around the neighborhood

The quaint neighborhood of Seabrook is perfect for biking. You’ll often see kids biking around, gleefully enjoying the freedom of being able to bike without adults. The neighborhood is that safe, which I love because I’m not the strongest of bikers.

A lot of the rental cottages come with 2-4 bikes. You can also rent bikes or scooters in downtown Seabrook at Buck’s NW if you don’t want to bring your own from home.

Pro tip: If you’re into mountain biking, there are also trails in the woods.

Partake in recreational sports and games

Seabrook has just about every recreational activity you can think of. There’s an indoor and outdoor pool, multiple playgrounds, mountain biking trails, basketball court, tennis courts, shuffleboard…they even have a horseshoe toss and pickleball!

I’m partial to the pickleball and basketball courts because I like living out my glory days of when I used to play, but there’s something fun to do for the whole family.

They also often have organized group activities in Seabrook. For example, they usually have outdoor group yoga and pickleball lessons on Saturdays. So if you are new to these things to do in Seabrook, WA, check them out!

Roast marshmallows for s’mores

Obviously roasting marshmallows would be on my list of things to do in Seabrook, WA. This town has a vibe that just demands it. And if you’re a pro like my family, you’ll get creative and bring cinnamon and Reese’s to make a chef-y spin on the classic.

A lot of the vacation rentals have fire pits in the backyard, but just in case yours don’t, there are fire pits strewn throughout the town. They also have wood storage scattered around the homes in case your need kindling and logs to start your own fire. Basically they’ve made it really easy to make s’mores, so make sure this is one of the things you do in Seabrook, WA!

Please abide by fire bans if they’re in effect and skip this activity!

Play mini golf and video games

Seabrook has an arcade that’s popular with kids, especially when they need to wait for a table at one of the nearby restaurants. As a kid who grew up during the prime arcade era, I’ll admit I find the games pretty disappointing because it has very few of the classics like Tekken, Time Crisis, etc. But when you realize this is a family-friendly destination and most of the retro video games of the 80s and 90s are violent, it makes sense. They do have Mortal Kombat upstairs and a driving Mario Kart game that’s clutch.

The arcade is actually owned by the same people who run Pacific Paradise Park in Ocean Shores. You can use your game card at both places, so it’s worth making the ~25 minute drive from Seabrook here since there are more games.

You’ll also find bumper boats and the largest mini golf course on the Washington coast. It has 36 holes and is well kept, so it’s a fun way to pass some time in the late afternoon.

Go clamming

I’ve never done this because I go to Seabrook in the summer, but if you visit during the fall or winter months you can go razor clam digging! You can get a license right in downtown Seabrook and rent equipment for a day of foraging your dinner.

Go kayaking to a ghost forest

You know the concept of ghost towns? Well that concept exists with forests, too. Ghost forests are created when sea levels rise and take over the vegetation, killing everything in its path and leaving a haunting cemetery of trees. The one near Seabrook was created a long time ago when a tsunami came through the area, and visiting it is one one of the best things to do in Seabrook, WA.

The ghost forest accessible via kayak or SUP about 15 minutes south of Seabrook in Copalis Beach. You used to be able to rent equipment at Buck’s NW, but unfortunately they’ve closed. However, it looks like a new rental spot is going to replace it. I hope they offer kayaks/paddle boards and the option to shuttle them to your launch point like Bucks’ did!

If you plan to get to the forest yourself, park in the lot behind the Copalis Beach Southbound bus stop. If you turn on satellite view for that Google maps link, you’ll see there’s a small boat launch area a few feet away. Head to the right once you get in the water and the ghost forest will be a little ways down.

Pro tip: Ocean Shores also has a canal network great for kayaking.

Visit the Olympic National Park and Forest

One of the quintessential things to do in Seabrook, WA is explore the national park. You can access the southern edge of the Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park about an hour north of Seabrook. The closest stop will be Lake Quinalt, about 45 minutes from Seabrook. This is a family-friendly spot in the Quinalt Rainforest that offers a bunch of easy hikes in densely wooded areas.

About 40 minutes north of Lake Quinalt is Kalaloch Beach and Ruby Beach, two areas with gorgeous Pacific Ocean views and opportunities to see sea creatures in tide pools at low tide. These are definitely more adventure beaches versus lounging beaches like Seabrook, but they’re a fun day trip activity near Seabrook.

Read more about these and other Washington coast attractions nearby for more day trip ideas.

Pros & cons of Seabrook

As promised, I’ll leave you with a summary of the pros and cons of Seabrook.

Pros

The beach is huge and not crowded
The town is super quaint, safe, walkable, and bikeable
There are a ton of fun recreational activities
It has a friendly community vibe that just makes you happier
It’s a great jumping off point for exploring the Washington coast

Cons

It gets cold on the coast so you’ll likely need sweatshirts for the beach
It has a very affluent vibe with mostly white people
The food is expensive and there aren’t a ton of options, so you’ll likely cook on longer trips

Obviously my family absolutely loves Seabrook, considering we go every year. So despite some cons, it’s definitely a place I recommend, especially for families. If you grew up going down the shore or to a lake cottage like me, Seabrook will definitely bring back all those nostalgic feels.

More family-friend vacation spots

Hopefully this list of things to do in Seabrook, WA inspired you to visit this quaint Washington beach town. Looking for more vacation ideas around Washington state and Oregon? Here are more ideas.

Things to Do in Seabrook, WA, a Quaint Washington Beach Town