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McCurdy Point Glass Beach
"You weren't kidding about glass beach...I swear this place should be called "Jackpot Point!"
- Ryan and Hilary
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SPECIAL Sea Glass REPORT on McCURDY POINT GLASS BEACH
Washington, USA |
McCurdy Point Glass Beach
RATED EXCELLENT
(16+ jewelry grade pcs. found per hour)
FOR 4 MILES!
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Use this map to North Beach Park(A)
Saturday, April 18th, dawned bright and clear, a nice day for NW Washington. Having packed a few things to camp overnight in our van, Lin and I left home in the hilly woods of Bow, dropping down across the flats of Western Washington, headed for the beach near Port Townsend, a trip of about 2 hours.
|  | | Deception Pass Bridge
| Crossing over to Fidalgo Island about 15 minutes from home and down Whidbey Island on Highway 20, we then boarded the Keystone ferry to cross over to the Olympic Peninsula and Port Townsend. | | Sea Glass REPORT ABOUT PORT TOWNSEND |
Port Townsend
Port Townsend is a town in Jefferson County, Washington, United States, approximately 40 miles north-northwest of Seattle. In addition to its natural scenery at the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, the city is also known for the many Victorian buildings remaining from its late 19th-century heyday, numerous annual cultural events, and as a maritime center for independent boatbuilders and related industries and crafts. The Port Townsend Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District.
|  | Port Townsend was officially settled in 1851. However, American Indian tribes, including the Chimacum, Hoh, Klallam, Quinault and Twana, had inhabited the region continuously for many years.
Port Townsend has been called the "City of Dreams" because of the early speculation that the city would be the largest harbor on the west coast of the United States. | By the late 1800s, Port Townsend was a well-known seaport, very active and banking on the future. Many homes and buildings were built during that time, with most of the architecture ornate Victorian.
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Railroads were built to reach more areas in the 1870-1890s and Port Townsend was to be the northwest extension of the rail lines. Its port was large and frequented by overseas vessels, so shipping of goods and timber from the area was a major part of the economy. Many of the buildings were built on the speculation that Port Townsend would become a booming shipping port and major city. When the depression hit, those plans lost the capital to continue and rail lines ended on the east side of Puget Sound.
| Over the decades that followed, Port Townsend maintained its economic stability in a variety of ways, including the development of artillery fortifications at Fort Worden.
The PortTownsend Historic District was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
|  Historic Port Townsend | Currently, it is most famous economically for the jazz workshop that is held there every summer. As part of the workshop, famous jazz musicians play all week in the Port Townsend clubs and bars, drawing many tourists to the area.
On the point and to the west side of the point at Port Townsend lies Fort Worden State Park. Fort Worden was an active US Army base from 1902 to 1953.
North Beach Park lies on the very western edge of Fort Worden on the south side of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, the grand entrance from the Pacific Ocean to the Puget Sound area. |
| Sea Glass REPORT THE TREK TO McCURDY POINT GLASS BEACH |
Saturday, April 18 - Leaving the ferry dock in Port Townsend, we turned left and headed for Safeway to pick up some Starbucks coffee and sandwiches for lunch.
Then we headed for North Beach County Park. We had been to this beach a couple of times before and found lots of sea glass, but this time we were determined to head for the point to the west where we had heard from several different people there was a lot more beach glass.
In fact, they called it "Glass Beach."
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North Beach County Park (second sign) - the fun starts | 
Lin in North Beach Parking area | Following the Google map above takes you in front of the fairgrounds, where the right turn onto Kuhn Road is not too obvious, so keep your eyes out. There is a small sign after you turn the corner.
A few blocks brings you to North Beach Park (with a larger sign), which is a popular place to walk dogs and launch kayaks and other small craft. | We arrived at the beach at about 10:15 a.m.
Upon turning left from the boat ramp, we immediately began picking up sea glass.
In fact, it was almost impossible to concentrate on reaching our goal – McCurdy Point Glass Beach – because our eyes were continually drawn to the amount of sea glass scattered about.
|  Turquoise Sea Glass. |  Blue and Green Sea Glass - It was typical to find several pieces together
| Naturally, the predominant color was white, but there already was color showing.
We quickly agreed not to pick up anything that was not an unusual color; and, although that did help some, neither of us could resist ALL the beautiful but more common pieces.
It was amazing...at one point, I stopped on a cluster or pile of beach pebbles and scanned the surface, counting 12 pieces of small but jewelry-quality sea glass. This was the norm for most of the beach.. |  | Here is the sea glass we collected in the first hour.
|  McCurdy Point is the far point
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We soon realized that this was not a trek for the fainthearted.
The beach stretched out for approximately 4 miles or a total hike of nearly 8 miles.
It was definitely worth it, though, each step of the 4 miles revealing yet more sea glass.
| We had been informed that it was crucial to get in and get out before the tide came in, as the beach narrowed in places where to the point that there was no beach between the water and the cliffs at high tide.
The bluffs seen farther on are shear and an estimated 100 feet high.
We had checked the tide tables and were there on one of the lowest tides of the year, though, and so had no trouble.
The sea glass was quite plentiful for the whole 4 miles.
In fact, if you weren't up to walking much, a very rewarding day could be spent within a half mile of the boat ramp.
|  | On the other hand, if you're truly a dedicated sea glass fanatic and serious about this beach, to take advantage of the best part, the stretch just before and beyond what I'll call "Sea Glass Rock (see photo)." To get there in a timely fashion, DON'T look down until you get about 100 yards before this rock. Again, the sea glass hunt gets significantly better at this point.
Don't get hung up earlier like we did!
Back to the hike: Time was awasting. We needed to get moving to reach McCurdy Point.
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Sea Glass Rock
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| There were so many small pieces of cobalt blue that we stopped picking them up. There was quite a variety of other blues.
There were a few reds that got us stoked, though, that's for sure! |
| Sea Glass REPORT MCCURDY POINT GLASS BEACH | At last, we approached McCurdy Point. We settled back to try to ease our backs and eat some lunch. Then we walked over fallen trees and driftwood and arrived at the actual
Sea Glass Beach at McCurdy Point, the site of the old Port Townsend dump (dumped from the top of the cliff).
| Typical of the topography of many sea glass beaches, the shore is backed by high bluffs of approximately 100 feet.
Several disintegrating auto chassis could be seen. The trash, however, had long since deteriorated and what was left, of course, was the glass. | 
McCurdy Point Glass Beach
| From what we could gather, though, with the predominant wave action coming from the west in conjunction with the tide changes and prevailing winds, the old dump glass had made its way down the beach over the years.
Also, the high bluffs extending back toward Port Townsend had been inhabited for over a century, and were perfect for dumping garbage (too high to see the beach from above and absolutely no access to the beach from the top for miles).
The old dump contained a lot of sea glass of various shapes sizes and colors. It was not concentrated in a small area, though, due the passage of time and the elements. It did not seem significantly better than the previous 1/2 mile of beach.
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McCurdy Point Cliffs
| However, knowing we faced a 3-1/2 mile trip back (7 miles total) we felt too burnt out to explore the west side of the point.
In spite of aching backs (we figure about 1,000 pieces of sea glass is a lot of bending over), the walk back was very enjoyable, as we took time along the way to browse spots we had skimmed over on the hike in.
When we finally got back the parking area around 7 p.m., our bodies were telling us that they couldn't go another step. Our muscles were crying out from not only the 8 miles but the constant stooping and bending.
Needless to say, bedtime at our campsite in Old Fort Townsend campground came early. We slept soundly, well satisfied with what was a really beautiful day doing what we do best to relax...the sea glass hunt.
| *Note: 1,000 pieces of glass included a lot of tiny colored pieces that we were picking up for a planned new project we are working on. Was it worth the bending over? That remains to be seen!
BUT NOW,
What about the west side of the point?
Some of you readers have perhaps been far around the point and know what's there. We'd love to have you tell us what it is like!
We will go back some day... This next time, though, NO GETTING WAYLAID BY SEA GLASS BEFORE WE GET all the way to the Sea Glass Beach. Yeah, right! point!
| Sea Glass REPORT McCurdy Point Sea Glass Beach PHOTOS |
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Total Sea Glass for Saturday (3 inches deep in the middle)!
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North Beach Green Sea Glass |
Red and Amber |
Sorting the McCurdy Point Sea Glass
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Detail of Colors from Glass Beach
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Pottery Shards
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Glass Beach Reds
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Iridescent and Pink Sea Glass - Glass Beach
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Comments
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Read What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see what other sea glass fan/addicts have to say.
Mc Curdy Point sea glass
Thank you for your story, it was so detailed.
I loved reading about the local history too.
What a collection!
Amazing colours and shapes.
When ...
WOW WOW WOW
I live along the shores of Lake Erie in NW Ohio. These pictures are thrilling! My husband and I are planning to hunt sea/beach glass this next year along ...
A New Passion
Hi I am new to sea glass hunting.
I have met several wonderful people thru the internet who have directed me to the beginners beach in the area where ...
Sweet's say hola,
Hi! Awesome photos, I want to try and find the beach but doubt very much I'll hike as far as you folks did.
Thanks for the info. Hope you are both ...
Walking at McCurdy beach
Hi- The wife and I are planning a trip to McCurdy beach in October and I was wondering what kind of beach it is.
I have arthritis in all the joints ...
McCurdy Point Story with Photos!
McCurdy Point Trip with Photos
Tue Aug 11 04:09:30 2009
Hi David and Lin
I love your website! Thank you for sharing info. My daughters and ...
Hello from Poulsbo and off to Sea Glass Beach!
Hello from Poulsbo, Wa!
I have recently "picked up" collecting sea glass again recently since my childhood and am SO EXCITED to be heading to Glass ...
Sea Glass Jackpot
You weren't kidding about glass beach!
We were up at 4:30am and on the 7:10am ferry to ***** so that we could make it to ***** at low tide. The walk ...
McCurdy Point
Wow!! I am so envious and got excited just looking at those lovely pictures. Unfortunately, I am on the other side of the USA!! Have fun!!
Wow - Beautiful Sea Glass
I live on the East Coast in Virginia - I've never seen this much sea glass in my life. I find quite a bit in the winter and spring along our beaches, but ...
Washington Sea Glass Beach tomorrow
Hello to all,
Some of you are heading to McCurdy Point this weekend.
We will be going out towards the point tomorrow, Friday, July 31st.
We were ...
West Side of McCurdy Point
I have hiked to this fantastic sea glass beach from the other "end"... called Cape George. The distance in miles is about the same as hiking from North ...
West side of McCurdy Point
I have hiked to this fantastic sea glass beach from the other "end"... called Cape George. The distance in miles is about the same as hiking from North ...
Wow - wish I was closer
Boy that is amazing. Too far from New England, I wish we had something here like that.
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