Ocean Shores is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 6,715 at the 2020 census, and according to 2024 census estimates, the city has a population of 7,731..
By December 1960, of canals were planned, a six-hole golf course was drawing players, and the mall shopping area was ready for the 1961 Ocean Shores Estates construction boom. The mall, 100 motel units, three restaurants and an airstrip sprang up from the sandy ground, with the marina opening in 1963. The SS Catala was brought up from California to become a "boatel" and charter fleet office. Two years later a southwest winter storm drove her into the sand and for many years she was the most famous shipwreck on the Washington Coast. In 1966 the gates to the city were installed.
Pat Boone became a local resident in 1967 as a stockholder in Ocean Shores Estates Incorporated, and promotion of the development was sped along by the Celebrity Golf tournaments hosted by Boone.
By 1969, Ocean Shores was declared the "richest little city" per capita in the country, with an assessed valuation of $35 million and 900 permanent residents. The following year the city was incorporated and a planning commission was formed to zone the city and codify streets. The city's first school opened in 1971 and road paving began in earnest.
During the 1970s, the town struggled through many setbacks brought on mainly by the state's economic recession. By the 1980s, the slump was over and construction of homes and businesses accelerated again.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
Ocean Shores experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with tendencies towards a Mediterranean (Köppen Csb), notably the pattern of a wetter winter and moderately drier summer.
The climate is similar to nearby Aberdeen, situated slightly farther inland, but Ocean Shores experiences a narrower range of temperatures and is significantly less susceptible to extremes of heat in the summer, caused by hotter, inland air masses being pushed into the region.
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