Damon Point remains closed
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Contrary to popular belief and certain social media posts, Damon Point in Ocean Shores remains closed. The city of Ocean Shores recently removed the concrete barriers blocking the beach approach to the former entrance to Damon Point, however, Damon Point itself will remain closed to public access.
According to Ocean Shores City Administrator Scott Andersen, it is literally a matter of life and death for anyone who thinks they’re brave, skilled, or experienced enough to try to make their way out to what has essentially become an island.
“The landing that’s currently there, that you can walk to the beach approach, should not really be called Damon Point, because Damon Point, as we knew it, no longer technically exists,” Andersen said. “According to the Department of Natural Resources, Damon Point, meaning past that beach, remains closed. They have jurisdiction over it. We do not. They’ve told people not to go out there. If they walk out there, and you can do that by trespassing along tribal property at the right time if the tide is low, you could get out there and get stuck out there.”
Andersen said that the ecosystem in and around Damon Point is constantly evolving, which has increased the danger.
“Damon Point is also migrating. This is the most living ecosystem I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, how fast this has changed. It has become a complete island. Then it moved to the east, and now it’s blocking everything in front of the marina. So, it’s starting to re-accumulate itself, but not in a place where you can get to that landing,” Andersen said. “That channel in-between is extraordinarily deceptive. It’s deeper than it looks, and the current moves very fast. Attempting to the former Damon Point could easily get you killed. If the tide’s going into the bay, you could be sucked out into the bay, and worse, if it’s coming out, you could be sucked out in the Pacific Ocean and they would never find you again.”
Andersen explained that the cobble berm the city constructed a year ago has managed to protect homes and infrastructure.
“We managed to save our city infrastructure and save the homes along that beach by putting up that berm. But without that, our fresh waterways would have been breached, we would have had salt water pouring into them,” Andersen said. “So, it was an absolutely necessary thing that we did, and I’m extremely glad that it’s worked out.”
As evidenced by social media posts and messages, confusion has cropped up regarding what is accessible and what is not, especially since the city removed the concrete barriers. Andersen said an effort to erect signage in the area is underway.
“There’s going to be new signage that is being put in at Damon Point/Marine View Beach [Andersen’s unofficial moniker]. One of them will be what happened to Damon Point and what’s going on, and it will explain the whole back end,” Andersen said. “We also just created a sign that was done with cooperation with our police department and our project manager that’s going to specify like where private property is.”
The north shore of Oyhut Bay is a work in progress. Recently, Rep. Emily Randall (D WA-06) helped secure $1.5 million to go toward strengthening the cobble berm. The proposed project will build a bigger, stronger, and more resilient berm that will save taxpayer money in the long-run. In early March, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials awarded a $30 million contract to Astoria, Oregon-based Big River Construction to conduct major maintenance on the North Jetty at the entrance of Grays Harbor near Ocean Shores. That work has yet to begin.
