Visitors Bureau offers insider advice for people heading to the coast over the upcoming holiday
LONG BEACH PENINSULA, Wash. – June 18, 2020 – As Washingtonians and Oregonians make plans for celebrating the Fourth of July, Visit Long Beach Peninsula offers guidance on making it a safe, healthy, clean and thoughtful holiday for all.
“We realize celebrating the Fourth on the Long Beach Peninsula is an important tradition for many Pacific Northwest families,” said Andi Day, executive director, Visit Long Beach Peninsula. “We want to manage expectations while people are making plans and when they are here, partly due to Covid-19 safety measures and partly due to our ongoing efforts to make the Fourth a safe, respectful, family and environmentally friendly celebration.”
The Tourism Bureau offers the following guidance:
- Plan ahead: Have camping, RV or lodging reservations secured ahead of time; pack a picnic for lunch and dinner as there may be long wait times at restaurants; review local visitor guidelines and pack extra PPE. Make alternate arrangements for your pets.
- Be respectful of social distancing and community health practices. Stay with your family/household pod and wear masks when interacting with others. Sanitize hands frequently.
- Seek out a section of beach from the Seaview beach approach to the Bolstad beach approach, especially if small children are in your party. This section of beach is closed to vehicles. Leave your car at your lodging and walk; or park in designated areas where the pavement meets the sand or along the side of the road.
- Be respectful of one of the country’s great natural treasures – the Long Beach Peninsula – and the host communities.
- Leave no trace. Pack it in; pack it out. Do NOT leave garbage or spent fireworks.
- Extinguish all personal fireworks and fires with water. Keep all sparks and fires 100 feet from the dunes. Have buckets of water on hand. Manage fires to stay four feet in diameter and height or smaller.
- Stay aware of the rising ocean tide and depart the beach by 11PM or earlier.
- Camping and parking overnight on the beach, city streets and public parking areas is strictly prohibited.
- If driving on the beach, the speed limit is 25mph. Please slow down, watch for children, and only drive if you are sober.
- Reschedule your visit if you or a member of your family is not feeling well. As a rural community, we have limited emergency healthcare and emergency response resources.
While shopkeepers will decorate for the Fourth, cities and towns have cancelled their annual public firework displays as well as parades and other festivities. Open-air markets in Long Beach on Friday afternoon from noon to 3PM and in Ilwaco on Saturday from 10AM to 4PM will be set up with respect to socially distancing.
“Things will be different this year,” said Day. “Everyone, including guests, needs to adapt and cooperate in order to keep our communities safe and our beaches and businesses open.”
For those wanting to experience the beach without increased risk, Day suggests visiting a few days before or after the 4th. Advantages include fewer visitors, shorter waits at restaurants, more choices for lodging, RV parking and campsites, and an easier time maintaining healthy social distancing. For children and dogs especially, it will also be quieter.
Located in the southwestern-most corner of Washington State, the Long Beach Peninsula is a favorite beach destination in the Pacific Northwest. Outdoor attractions include lakes, rivers and ocean; national, state and local parks; an extensive trail system and paved coastal trail; historic lighthouses, a boardwalk, grassy dunes and 28 miles of silver sand beach, a dedicated Seashore Conservation Area. For more ideas on things to see and do, please go to visitlongbeachpeninsula.com.