WDFW Beach Season Information
Clam, mussel, and oyster seasons OPEN for harvest April 1 through May 31 only.
Please avoid trespass and respect private property markers.
WDFW shellfish seasons indicate the specific times of year when harvesting is permitted. Before heading to the beach, please also check the Department of Health (DOH) information below which is related to health of the shellfish and may be updated daily. To harvest on this beach, it must be both during the WDFW approved season and approved by the DOH.
Please take care not to cover oysters with sand and mud while digging clams because this will potentially kill the oysters.
Manila clams can be found throughout the middle and upper intertidal zones of this small park. Varnish clams are abundant in the upper intertidal area. Native littleneck clams are present throughout the beach, but in lower abundance and usually lower in tidal elevation than Manila clams. Butter clams can be found at the lowest tidal elevations.
Some oysters can be found in patches across the middle intertidal zone. Please be sure to shuck oysters and leave shells behind at the same approximate tide height where they were taken. Oyster shells provide critical habitat to attract and grow more oysters.
Ingvald J. Gronvold Park is located in the heart of Hoodsport on Highway 101.
There is limited parking along the park's border with Highway 101.
Ingvald J. Gronvold is owned by the Port of Hoodsport. It offers a public boat dock with beach access and picnic tables. Two sets of concrete stairs lead down to the beach from the sidewalk along Highway 101. Public restrooms are located across the street in the Hood Canal Grocery parking lot.
Ingvald J. Gronvold Park is named after a longtime local resident who, in 1990, gave the Port of Hoodsport the funds to improve the dock and area around the 350 feet of Hoodsport waterfront the park encompasses. Ingvald "Ingie" J. Gronvold worked for years as an operator at the City of Tacoma's hydroelectric plant at Cushman. Mr. Gronvold lived very frugally -- a former port commissioner remembers him having two televisions stacked at home, one with pictures and no sound and the other with sound but no pictures -- so his gift was a surprise. More history of the Port of Hoodsport can be found here.