Clamming on the Oregon Coast
There’s nothing quite like foraging for your own dinner when camping. One of my favorite campgrounds in Oregon is also one of the best places to go clamming for delicious Pacific Razor clams.
In December 2021, I went clamming for the very first time on the Oregon Coast. Even though I’ve lived in Oregon for more than 25 years and LOVE clams, it took a friend who is more experienced at clamming to invite me for me to go on my first clamming expedition. My friend invited me to join them at Fort Stevens State Park, one of my favorite Oregon state parks, during a King Tide. A King Tide is a super low and super high tide, happens when the moon is closest to the earth during either a full moon or new moon. In our case it was the new moon. Clamming is good during a King Tide because you have better access to the surf where the clams live during low tide.
What you Need to Clam on the Oregon Coast
License: Whether you are a resident or from out of state, you’ll need a fishing license for clamming. I got a state shellfish license. I was able to buy it online and save it to an app on my phone. It cost $10 for the year.
Check for Alerts: Check with the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department, because sometimes clamming is closed due with toxins in the water or other reasons.
Something to dig clams with: You can use a regular shovel, but a clam gun is definitely worth the investment, if you’re going to go clamming more than one time
Waterproof high boots: My boots struck a leak on day one and it was not pleasant.
Waterproof layers: It can get cold and very wet on the Oregon coast. Be sure to dress in layers, including waterproof pants and jacket with a hood. I didn’t have them, but waterproof gloves would have been nice to have! I packed every piece of warm and dry clothing I own—long underwear, fleece lined pants, rain pants, polar fleece, hats and gloves. Good thing I did, because I wore most of them.
Four-wheel Drive vehicle: Some places on the Oregon Coast allow you to drive out on the beach. Being close to the area where you’re clamming is convenient, especially in harsh weather. Having a four-wheel drive truck or car makes it easy and safe to drive out on the beach.
Tide Schedule: You’ll want know when high and low tides are for clamming. For razor clams, you want to head to the beach at low tide, to have best access to where the clams are hiding just under the sand. Always be alert when at the coast for sneaker waves and debris washing up.
Head Lamp: Depending on when the tide is, you may be clamming in the dark. A good quality headlamp is a must to see the clam divots.
Clamming on the Oregon Coast
Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria is one of my favorite Oregon State Parks. It’s on the confluence of the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River. There’s so much to do there—an old shipwreck on the beach, miles of sandy beaches to walk or drive on, bike trails, there’s a lake you can hike around or kayak on, the river is there to explore and there’s also a historic fort to check out for military buffs and a disc golf course. I love returning to this park at least once a year for camping. So when my friends invited me to come clamming, I jumped at the chance. I stayed in Squeaky and they were camping in a yurt. It’s not the cheapest park, for two nights with full hook ups, I paid $76. But I was happy to have the electric power to run my heater, as it got quite chilly.
My cat Tucker and I arrived just before sunset and went straight to the beach. It was Tucker’s first time at the beach and she wasn’t so sure about it. I let her out on her leash and she stuck pretty close to her backpack. I think the loose dogs and the wide-open space scared her. I stayed for just a few minutes and went to set up camp.
I texted my friend to let her know I arrived and she said they’d be by in a little bit to pick me up. The tide was heading out and it was time to go clamming. Sean has a big 4WD truck, so we were able to drive right onto the beach and park close to where the clams were.
How to Find Pacific Razor Clams
I’ve never been clamming before, but I do love clams. Sean and Kyla gave me a quick lesson. You look for a little quarter size divot in the sand and that’s the place you dig. The clams are about 12-18 inches below the surface. They came with two clam guns that we shared. The clam gun allows you to dig a hole straight down and suck the sand and clam up with the suction.
Within a few minutes, I saw my first divot. Kyla handed me the clam gun and I pushed it into the sand. There was a bit of resistance. Clamming is definitely a physical activity. I pushed down as far as I could go and slowly tugged it the long tube out. There’s a small hole that you cover that causes suction. I let my finger off the hole, a bunch of sand came tumbling out, but no clam. “Go again!” Kyla yelled. So I plunged it back down and this time, came up with my very first razor clam. Those clams are speedy. They can dig a foot a minute and sometimes it takes two tries to come up with one.
With two clam guns and three people, we meandered up and down the beach, spotting divots and digging down. More than once the tide would come soak us just as we submerged the gun. That’s how I learned that my 10-year-old boots had split from age and my feet got soaked. It wasn’t too cold, though. I had on warm wool socks.
The evening was beautiful and mild with a dreamy pacific sunset. We stayed past dark, headlamps helping spot the clams. It was a bit harder, but not impossible to spot them. In order to keep clamming sustainable, each person is limited to 15 razor clams per day. Sean and Kyla reached their limit and I got 12 that first night. We were out for about 2 ½ hours. It gets dark so early these days, it felt much later than 6pm when they dropped me off at my campsite.
Cleaning Pacific Razor Clams
I dried off, warmed up and ate some dinner and then walked over to their yurt. Sean gave me a lesson in cleaning razor clams. Unlike the clams I grew up with on the East Coast, where you just throw them in boiling water, razor clams need to be prepped before eating.
There’s a lot of rinsing to remove the sand. Then a quick dip in boiling water to open the shells. Then you trim away the inedible parts: the end of the foot, the lungs and the poop sack. (I’m pretty sure that’s the technical name for it.) It’s not hard, but it is a bit tedious. The pay-off, however is well worth it. (And no-wonder razor clams cost so much!) I walked back with a few ziplock bags full of the mollusks to put in my freezer.
It started to rain at some point in the night and Saturday was windy and wet. I decided to see if I could tune into a seminar online about podcasting. Sure enough, I had decent enough cell connection to watch the Zoom presentation. After it was over, I tried to see if Tucker would come out, but my adventure kitty was having no part of it. She did not like the rain. So, I headed out for a hike by myself.
A Rainy Day at the Coast
I wanted to check out the other end of the King Tide—the high tide. From my campsite, I walked first to the lake within the campground and then about a mile further up the path to the site of the Peter Iredale shipwreck. I’ve visited this park many times and this was the first time I saw it underwater.
I was expecting lots of people out to watching the high tide, but there was only one couple who after taking a selfie, quickly scrambled back into their car. If you’ve ever been on the Oregon Coast during a storm, you know the water comes at you sideways, the sand gets whipped in your face and it can feel like the wind is about to blow you over. I only hung out for a few minutes, but enjoyed the dramatic sea and the feeling of cold, salty water on my face, even if I did have to keep wiping off my glasses to see.
On the walk out I’d passed a few people walking dogs and I have to admit, it was kind of sad to be without Olive. I’d left her at home because she’s gotten quite old and really can’t tolerate camping anymore. But as I walked, I said to myself, this is going to be my new normal. I enjoy being out in nature. Despite the weather, the birds were quite active and I kept my eyes open for an elk, which I saw last time I was camping in this park. No elk, but I did come back to Squeaky with a smile on my face. Tucker was curled up in her bed and greeted me with her happy purr.
I was hungry, so decided to fry up a couple of the clams I’d caught the day before. Normally razor clams are breaded and fried in oil, but I didn’t have any breading, so just fried them up in a tiny bit of oil and butter. Sean warned me to only cook a minute per side, or they’d get rubbery. They were pretty tasty, but after I got home, I cooked them the traditional way, with breading, and they were so much better. I also made a pot of clam chowder. Also delicious.
My normally very active kitten was content to sleep the day away while I worked on editing my podcast. Kyla texted to say they were going to town to escape the rain, but I was quite content to hunker down in Squeaky.
Clamming at the Low Tide
Sean and Kyla came by again a few hours before the next low tide, this time with a whole group of friends and some boots for me to borrow. We headed out for another evening of clamming on the Oregon Coast. The weather broke shortly after we got to the beach. It was still a bit windy, but the constant rain subsided. The clams were out in full force and I got my limit within an hour. These I packed up and put in the fridge to clean when I got home. Although the rain stopped, it was still pretty chilly out and I just enjoyed an evening of reading in my van.
I headed out fairly early Sunday morning because Olive’s pet sitters were leaving. On the way home, I stopped at the foggy lake and let Tucker play around a bit on her leash. She played around in the grasses and didn’t wander very far.
Overall it was a great experience. I love trying new things and clamming on the Oregon Coast is definitely something I would love to try again.
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