Beaches in Vancouver, WA

1. Wintler Beach Community Park

Located right within the city of Vancouver, WA, Wintler Beach Community Park is the best place to go if you're looking for a beach location in Vancouver and don't want to worry about having to travel outside of the city.

The park is located right beside the Columbia River and stretches out to cover a little over 12 acres of land, including nice grassy and sandy areas.

You can see some amazing views from this beach park and the on-site amenities include restrooms, tables, hiking trails, and lots of benches to sit down and admire the scenery.

2. Cape Disappointment State Park

This uniquely-named state park is anything but disappointing! Cape Disappointment State Park was actually named due to the disappointment of English explorer John Meares, who was searching for the Columbia River but hadn't been able to find it.

The local visitor center offers a lot of interesting information regarding Meares and the history of the area, but if you're just here to have some fun, you'll find Cape Disappointment State Park has a lot to offer.

Around two miles of sandy beaches can be found in this 1,880 acre park as well as many different scenic walking and biking trails. Lots of good on-site amenities are found here too, including full camping facilities and boat launch sites.

3. Plymouth Park

Plymouth Park is quite a drive away from Vancouver. In fact, it'll take between 2-3 hours to get to this beach, but it's definitely worth the journey if you want to enjoy one of the finest beaches in Washington State.

Covering over 110 acres of land and featuring sandy, rocky, and wooded areas, Plymouth Park features some gorgeous beaches along the banks of the Columbia River.

The beaches are well-maintained and kept very clean here, and there's a good campground right nearby if you'd like to spend a full weekend or longer here.

Swimming and sunbathing are popular activities at Plymouth Park, and the local amenities include restrooms, picnic areas, BBQ grills, boat ramps, and more.

4. Beacon Rock State Park

Located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Beacon Rock State Park is another excellent beach location not too far from Vancouver.

The park covers more than 5,000 acres of land in total and offers a lot of good facilities like a fully-equipped campground and lots of nice hiking trails.

Various eco tours and fishing charters can be booked around the park to help you make the most of your trip, or you can simply follow the various trails and head down to the sandy spots to take some photos, eat a picnic, or simply appreciate the wonderful views in every direction. Directions

5. Fort Columbia State Park

Covering almost 600 acres of land, Fort Columbia State Park is another excellent recreational area for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers in the Vancouver area.

This beach isn't far from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park too, so there's a lot of opportunities for outdoor activity in this region.

The park itself is home to various old military buildings that can be explored as well as many coastal trails and sandy spots to set up with a picnic and some good friends.

Families will have a lot of fun here due to the many beautiful trails and rich wildlife all around.

Fort Columbia State Park is also equipped with some good, clean facilities like restrooms and picnic tables.

6. Cottonwood Beach

Nestled in the Captain William Clark Park, Cottonwood Beach is an incredible historical site at Washougal that is best known for being one of Lewis and Clark’s campsites during their explorations in 1806. For six days, Lewis and Clark gathered provisions before their return through the Columbia River Gorge. Today, visitors from near and far come to the beach to enjoy the very same natural surroundings that these famous explorers did. With 93-acres of land to explore around the beach itself, the park offers public amenities such as 19 picnic tables, two grills, two shelters, restrooms, drinking fountains, and also recreational experiences like a 4-mile dirt and gravel trail and a half-mile asphalt trail.

333 South Index Street, Washougal, Washington 98671, Phone: 564-397-2285