
Clamming at Dosewallips State Park
On a picture perfect day last weekend, I went clamming with some friends to Dosewallips State Park on the Hood Canal.
Dosewallips is one of my favorite places to harvest clams and oysters in Washington state because it has a scenic beach, there’s a ton of space for everyone, and the shellfish is plentiful. This is an excellent beach for Manila littleneck clams and Pacific oysters.

The Olympics near Dosewallips State Park
In a matter of an hour or so, we were able to harvest our limits of delicious Manila clams. These clams are within the top couple of inches of sand so all you need is a hand trowel to dig for them. It is not uncommon to get your limit of 40 clams within several square yards of digging.
Armed with a shucking knife and a bottle of cocktail sauce, we slurped fresh briny oysters right on the beach as they were extracted from their homes. Oysters don’t get any fresher than this!

Wide beaches at Dosewallips State Park
Dosewallips State Park is comprised of 425 acres and has 5,500 feet of saltwater shoreline facing the Hood Canal. The park is located near Brinnon WA, about 2 1/2 hours from Seattle. It is open for clams from March 1st through October 31st and is open for oysters year-round.