Lillard and Karns on the Seabrook Hiking Trail. Photo credit: Washington Filmworks
Last month Executive Director Amy Lillard and Program Manager of Production Services Krys Karns went on a three-day tour in Grays Harbor County. Working with our partners at the Greater Grays Harbor, they planned a seventy-two hour location scouting adventure.
The county gets its name from Grays Harbor, a large bay with the city of Aberdeen at its eastern end, which happened to be the first stop on their trip. They scouted Seaport Landing, a 38-acre former sawmill complex on the south bank of the Chehalis River owned by the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority (GHHSA). This property lies in wait for the perfect horror movie. The GHHSA also operate and maintain Lady Washington, the official ship of Washington State. Over the years, she has appeared in several motion pictures and television shows, including Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Star Trek: Generations. To find out more about GHHSA check out our blog post here.
Seaport Landing. Photo credit: Washington Filmworks
Happy Hour at the 8th Street Ale House. Photo credit: Mike Coverdale
That evening Lillard and Karns were invited by Kellie Benz from The Daily World to participate in a Happy Hour with local filmmakers in the City of Hoquiam. Then it was off to a presentation to the Grays Harbor Council of Governments. They shared the important economic impact of film production in Washington State and talked in detail about how Washington Filmworks can help facilitate production in their areas.
Day two started in the magical beach town of Seabrook located one mile south of Pacific Beach. There they discovered charming beach cottages, miles of sandy beach and forested hiking and mountain bike trails. From Seabrook they headed north to the Quinault Indian Reservation for a tour. The Quinault Indian Nation consists of the Quinault and Queets tribes and descendants of five other costal tribes: Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook and Cowlitz. There were beautiful vistas, forests, Quinault River and Point Grenville Cove. This day was complete with a drive through Ocean Shores, which is surrounded by 23 miles of canals. They also walked on the six miles of beautiful beach, one of the only beaches in Washington considered a state highway that cars can drive on!
On Day three, Lillard and Karns drove south to the City of Westport. The Westport Marina is homeport to one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in the Pacific Northwest. Strolling down the marina front, they stepped back in time and found a variety of quaint “mom & pop” shops and diners. First-timers to Westport, they hitched a ride and drove on Grayland State Park Beach. The beach has over 7,000-feet of spectacular ocean frontage, just south of the Town of Grayland. This beach is also considered a state highway and all of the rules of the road apply. The last stop on the trip was a climb to the top of Westport Lighthouse, the tallest in Washington State. A 360° view of the ocean and surrounding areas was an enchanting end to their adventure.
Ocean Shores. Photo credit: Washington Filmworks
Westport Lighthouse. Photo credit: Washington Filmworks
The trip was a huge success and the Washington Filmworks team added 11 locations to our online location database showcasing the diversity of locations across Washington. Washington Filmworks would like to thank the County of Grays Harbor and the community for their hospitality and interest in partnering with our organization to attract more film production to Washington State.