Seabrook

Ignore the Haters

Perched on a tree fringed bluff over a wide flat Pacific beach, the planned community of Seabrook, Washington, seems to trigger a peculiar type of reaction from some folks.

“fake” “ersatz” “Stepford creepy” “out of place” “Truman Show”

Fair enough but - the houses are real, not a movie set, and the families enjoying their vacations there are real too.

We've rented homes for 10+ people at Seabrook for two years in a row and if you want a place for three generations to enjoy; where everyone can’t wait to go outside and play instead of sitting on their butts with their phones stuck to their faces - this is it - a kid's paradise for all ages.

Pros:

• family oriented

• dogs welcome

• walkable; bike and scooter friendly

• endless, uncrowded beach

• hiking and mountain biking trails

• indoor and outdoor pools, hot tubs

• playing fields

• pickleball and tennis courts

• gnomes

• wedding facilities

• open spaces, shady ravines and pocket gardens

• restaurants, retail shops and grocery market

• free concerts, Saturday street fair

Cons:

• spendy (but still cheaper than hotel rooms and restaurant meals for ten people)

  

  The variety of outdoor activites is a big part of the attraction for my family, but the overall ambiance is a rebirth of the way small cities and towns used to be lived in before suburbia became the American Way. There are no water sucking front lawns, driveways or overbearing attached garages; they've been replaced by porches, cottage gardens, old fashioned picket fences and sidewalks.

  

  Architectual styles are mixed, creative and colorful. OMG the color red is allowed! A nice change from the northwest predilection for HOAs marinated in tired shades of beige.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Flowers are everywhere: black eyed Susans, zinnias, roses both wild and domestic, aromatic lavenders, Shasta daisies, deep blue and pink hydrangeas and plenty of red crocosmia for the hummingbirds.

  

  

  

  Where else can you follow a meandering forest trail to a magical neighborhood of gnome dwellings?

  

  

  

  And forts! In the woods or on the beach - choose your building site.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

*If the town of Seabrook isn’t up your alley but you want the Olympic Peninsula ocean experience, the nearby community of Pacific Beach has houses available via short term rental sites, as well as Pacific Beach State Park, which offers both day and overnight camping facilities. Discover Pass required.

All photographs are the work of and copywrited by Logan Darrow.