WDFW Beach Season Information
Clam, mussel, and oyster seasons OPEN for harvest year-round.
No restrictions on hours of harvest.
Avoid accessing the beach from the northern parking lot (near the restroom). The mud in the creek channel is extremely sticky and hazardous. An access route has been graveled from the southern parking lot. Use this trail to enter and exit the beach.
Private shellfish farms are adjacent to public tidelands in Quilcene Bay. Do not trespass on private property. Boundary is marked with stakes and cinderblocks; farm is straight ahead and to your right as you access public tidelands and is the area with clam nets and other aquaculture gear. See Beach Map for access information to public tidelands in the outer bay. Beach users are expected to avoid trespass on private tidelands and are responsible for failure to do so.
Pets must be leashed on WDFW Quilcene tidelands April through October and owners must clean up and remove pet waste from WDFW lands and tidelands. Pet waste is harmful to water quality and shellfish harvest and can result in beach closures. Please help keep shellfish beds clean for harvest by cleaning up after your pets, and/or keeping pets away from shellfish beds. Beach users are expected to avoid trespass by their pets on private tidelands and are responsible for failure to do so.
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.
The minimum size limit for clams on this beach is 1½ inches. This beach has a large population of Manila clams. There are also smaller numbers of native littleneck clams and eastern softshell clams on this beach. Oysters are sparsely scattered across the western edge of the beach. Private tideland boundaries adjacent and interior to the WDFW tidelands are marked with white fiberglass posts, do not trespass. See Beach map for public harvest areas. The Northwest, Southwest, and Northeast units are a longer walk, but worth it for superior clam digging. The West unit has fewer and lower-density clams than these other units. WDFW encourages harvesters to explore these outer Quilcene units without trespassing on the neighboring shellfish farm.
From Highway 101 entering Quilcene, turn onto Linger Longer Road (next to the Post Office). Follow Linger Longer Rd. about one mile to the WDFW parking area on the left.
The empty lot across the street from the paved WDFW parking lot is private property. Parking is not recommended. Overflow parking can be found at the Quilcene Yacht Club/Quilcene Boat Ramp, 1/4 mile south on Linger Longer Road.
Private tideland boundaries adjacent to the WDFW tidelands are marked with white fiberglass posts. Some of these private tideland areas have nets stretched across the beach surface to protect farmed clams. Please do not trespass on private property. There are two connected parking lots for the Quilcene Bay Tidelands, both accessed from Linger Longer Road. The southern parking lot has been blocked off to car access. Harvesters are strongly encouraged to access the tidelands using the trail that leads east down the slope from the southern parking lot. Sticky mud below the slope of the northern lot can be treacherous. From the northern lot, walk south past the boulders blocking the connector road between the two parking lots and down the gravel embankment. Follow the hard packed path from the southern parking lot out to the tidelands. Don't stray outside the marked path or you'll end up in soft mud.
A vault toilet is located at the northernmost of the two small parking lots. There are no trash receptacles at this site. Please pack out your garbage and pet waste. Public restrooms, showers, swimming beach, and a picnic area are located at the Herb Beck Marina at the end of Linger Longer Road.