10 GUESTS
Maximum occupancy
2 GAME ROOMS
Pool, ping pong, arcade, board games, puzzles, and more
3.5 BATHROOMS
Including two primary suites
3-MIN WALK
Private trail through the dunes to the beach
Ocean Trail: An Oceanfront Vacation Rental in Long Beach, WA
For guests comparing oceanfront vacation rentals in Long Beach, WA, Ocean Trail has something that changes the way you use the beach: walk out the back door, follow the private path through the dune grass, and you are on the sand in about three minutes.
I first noticed this house years before it was mine.
At the time, I was spending my weekends working on my first Long Beach house. Before sunset, I would put the tools down, grab a beer, and head toward the beach with my dog Patty. When we reached the dunes, I would look south and see this large oceanfront home.
I never imagined that four years later I would own it.
Ocean Trail now sleeps up to ten people across six bedrooms, with two primary suites, two game rooms, a seven-person hot tub, a large stone outdoor fireplace, and an unobstructed view toward the Pacific.
I have spent the years since adding, changing, and organizing things based on how the house actually gets used.
There are more games than anyone could reasonably get through during one stay, a kitchen stocked for real cooking, beach and clamming gear, six ways to make coffee, dog supplies, and a lot of small things that might seem excessive until you are here and realize you do not have to go buy them.
That is pretty much how Ocean Trail has evolved.
I use the house, notice something that could make the stay better, and then add it.
Walk Out the Back Door and Head to the Beach
The private trail starts right behind the house and takes you through the dune grass to the beach. No driving, no figuring out where to park. Just step outside and go.
That changes how often I actually go to the beach when I stay here.
I can walk down early, come back for coffee, return later with everyone else, and go back again before sunset.
If somebody forgets a jacket, it is not much of a crisis.
The house also has most of the things I normally take with me: nine beach chairs, coolers, beach toys, beach and yard games, picnic basket, headlamps, and a wagon.
The wagon is important.
I have spent enough years hauling things to the beach to appreciate wheels.
Six Bedrooms, Each With Its Own Purpose
Ocean Trail sleeps up to ten guests across six bedrooms.
The rooms are not simply six copies of the same setup. Some face the ocean, some give couples more privacy, and others were set up specifically with younger guests in mind.
The Downstairs Primary Suite
The downstairs primary suite has a king Tempur-Pedic bed and its own large bathroom.
The bathroom has heated floors and a large double shower with a steam function, which feels especially good after coming back from the beach on one of those colder Washington coast days.
Having a primary bedroom on the main floor also gives the house a little more flexibility for multigenerational trips or anyone who prefers fewer stairs.
The Upstairs Ocean View Suite
The upstairs primary suite also has a king Tempur-Pedic bed, but this room is all about the view.
It faces the Pacific and opens onto a private covered deck, so you do not have to leave the bedroom to check the weather or see what the ocean is doing that morning. Step out, sit on one of the padded recliners, and take in the view.
The adjoining bathroom has its own ocean view, a double vanity, double shower, and soaker tub.
I am fairly certain a soaker tub is vastly improved by being able to see the Pacific from it.
More Ocean View Bedrooms
A second upstairs bedroom has a king bed and ocean view.
Another has two queen beds and also faces the ocean, which works particularly well for siblings, friends, or children sharing a room.
A King Room With a Gaming System
Another upstairs bedroom has a king bed along with a PS3.
It is a useful room for someone who appreciates having a little more separation from the group, although disappearing into the bedroom to play games while everyone else is downstairs may result in some judgment from the rest of the family.
The Bunk Room
The sixth bedroom has two bunk beds and two gaming systems, including a GameCube and PS2.
It tends to make room assignments fairly easy when children or teenagers are part of the trip.
Bedrooms one through five include televisions, Apple TV, Sonos soundbars, Tempur-Pedic mattresses, down feather toppers, high thread count cotton sheets, down pillows, and down comforters with Belgian linen duvet covers.
I care quite a bit about beds.
You can have a beautiful view, a great dinner, and a perfect day at the beach, but a terrible mattress still finds a way to become the thing everyone remembers.
Games, Puzzles, Pool, Ping Pong and More
When I was growing up, my family stayed in an old cedar cabin at the beach. My brothers, sister, and I would immediately start looking through the house for games, books, or anything else we could do.
Those memories stayed with me when I started building and remodeling vacation homes.
Ocean Trail has two game rooms.
One is filled with more than 300 board games, more than 100 puzzles, craft supplies, and a game table with seating for six.
The second has a pool table, ping pong, a flat-screen TV with a sound bar, and more
Then there are the video games.
Xbox One. PS4. PS3. PS2. GameCube.
And an arcade with more than 2,000 classic games.
At some point, this stopped being a normal amount of entertainment.
I kept going anyway.
The garage also has a long list of yard games, including bocce, cornhole, croquet, Connect Four, Kan Jam, ladder golf, lawn bowling, and quite a few others.
The goal is simple.
If the weather turns or everyone decides to stay home for the day, nobody should be wandering around asking what there is to do.
The Kitchen Is Stocked for Actual Cooking
Vacation rental kitchens can be strange.
There is sometimes a very beautiful stove and exactly one pan that you would trust with dinner.
I cook when I stay at the coast, so Ocean Trail has accumulated a much more complete kitchen over the years.
There is cast iron and stainless-steel cookware, baking equipment, serving pieces, Fiestaware, glassware, and enough utensils that preparing dinner for a full house does not require improvising with whatever happens to be in one drawer.
There are also plenty of small appliances.
Mixer. Food processor. Vitamix. Waffle maker. Slow cooker. Air fryer.
The list kept growing for the same reason the game collection did.
I used the house, noticed something missing, and added it.
And Then There Is the Ice Cream Machine
I also provide a Breville ice cream machine.
Fresh ice cream takes about an hour, and there is a waffle cone maker to go with it.
This is one of those things that started as an idea and somehow became part of the house.
Making the flavors together is fun.
Making fresh waffle cones is fun.
Eating the result requires very little explanation.
Hot Tub, Fireplace and Plenty of Room Outside
The outdoor space has a seven-person hot tub, a large stone fireplace, lounge chairs, additional seating, and a hammock.
There is a 32-inch Blaze stainless-steel gas grill connected to the house propane system.
There is also a Kamado grill for grilling, smoking, roasting, or baking.
And there is a double outdoor shower.
The outdoor shower has proven useful for just about everything that comes back from the beach covered in sand.
People.
Kids.
Dogs.
Feet before getting into the hot tub.
Beach houses produce an impressive amount of sand.
Take the Wagon Down for a Bonfire
Some of my earliest memories of the coast are tied to bonfires.
Later, when I started bringing my own kids to Long Beach, some of my favorite evenings were the rare calm nights when we could find a quiet spot on the beach, start a fire, and stay until well after sunset.
That is why my beach homes have wagons.
Ocean Trail also keeps the practical things for a beach fire together: chairs, cooler, headlamps, lighter, shovel, and a bucket.
If the weather cooperates, load the wagon.
I still think a good night around a fire on the beach beats most things I have added to the house.
Dogs Can Come Too
Dogs are accepted with prior approval and under the current pet guidelines.
The house already has a dog bed, bowls, and dog towels.
There is also the outdoor shower for sandy paws.
I spent many years bringing Patty to the coast with me.
He came while I worked on my first home, waited patiently while I worked too long, and somehow always knew when I finally put the tools down and was ready to start walking to the beach. Every home there reminds me of him…
Traveling with a dog is easier when a few of the bulky little necessities are already at the house.
Just keep in mind that the yard is not fenced and the neighborhood has rules about dogs being leashed outside.
Five Minutes North of Town
Ocean Trail is about five minutes north of downtown Long Beach, inside a gated community. The beach behind the house is part of a long, lightly used stretch of shoreline.
You can drive into town for restaurants, shops, and the boardwalk, head south toward Cape Disappointment, explore the Peninsula, or cross over to Astoria.
Or stay home.
One of the strange things that happened as I improved the houses over the years is that it became easier and easier not to leave them.
The hot tub is there.
The kitchen is stocked.
There are more games than anyone can finish.
The beach is behind the house.
Ocean Trail Was Not Finished When I Bought It
Not because the house was incomplete.
Because I am apparently incapable of leaving a project alone.
I have always built things this way.
As a kid, I would collect discarded wood and straighten bent nails so I could make whatever idea had entered my head that week. Years later, building Lewis followed essentially the same pattern on a much larger and more expensive scale. The original plan kept changing because I could see something better and had a difficult time ignoring it.
Ocean Trail has evolved the same way.
I stay here.
My family stays here.
Guests stay here.
Something becomes obvious.
A missing piece of kitchen equipment. A better place for something. Another game. Better beach gear. A small convenience that saves somebody a trip into town.
So I change it.
The result is a house with an admittedly excessive amount of stuff, but very little of it is here by accident.
Ocean Trail Through the Seasons
Summer
Long days make the private beach trail hard to ignore. Head down in the morning, come back for lunch, and go again before sunset. This is also when the large manicured lawn, grills, outdoor fireplace, and beach gear get the most use. The wagon earns its keep.
Fall
The crowds thin out, the beach gets quieter, and cooler evenings make the hot tub and outdoor fireplace much more appealing. Approved razor clam digs may also line up with your stay, and the clam guns and bags are already at the house.
Winter
This is when Ocean Trail’s indoor side really makes sense. Watch the weather move across the Pacific, cook something that takes a little longer, start a board game, play pool, or settle into the hot tub once the rain lets up. With this many games in the house, staying in is not much of a compromise.
Spring
The days start getting longer again, which means more time on the beach and around the property. Spring can also bring razor clam opportunities, migrating birds, and those mixed-weather days when you may use the beach trail, game room, and hot tub all before dinner.
The House I Used to Look at From the Dunes
I still think about those evenings when I was working on my first Long Beach house.
Patty and I would walk toward the beach before sunset.
I would reach the dunes, look south, and see Ocean Trail.
At the time, it was simply somebody else’s beautiful oceanfront home.
Four years later, it became mine.
Since then, I have spent years trying to make it more comfortable, more usable, and more fun to stay in.
There are certainly more polished ways to describe oceanfront vacation rentals.
I would rather tell you what is actually here.
Six bedrooms.
A private trail through the dunes.
A house full of games.
A kitchen where you can really cook.
A wagon ready for the beach.
A hot tub waiting when you want.
And the Pacific out back, exactly where it was when I first noticed the house.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Ocean Trail is an oceanfront home in a gated Long Beach community with Pacific views and a private trail through the dunes to the beach.
The beach is about a three-minute walk from the house using the trail through the dune grass.
Ocean Trail accommodates up to ten guests across six bedrooms.
Yes. The home has a private seven-person hot tub outside.
Dogs are accepted with prior approval and according to the current pet guidelines. Dog bowls, towels, and a dog bed are provided.
Yes. The house has beach chairs, coolers, toys, games, picnic baskets, headlamps, and a wagon.
Ocean Trail is about five minutes north of downtown Long Beach by car.
