Forest to dune, in half a mile
Shifting Sands is the nature trail at Twin Harbors State Park, and it does in half a mile what the whole coast does in twenty: takes you from dense shore-pine forest, through the transition scrub, and out into open sand. It is half a mile out and back if you turn around at the dunes, or about 2.4 miles if you carry on and loop it with the beach. The surface changes as the habitat does — packed forest floor, then soft sand — which is the point of the walk but does mean it is not a wheelchair route. It is the best short introduction on the South Beach to how a dune system actually works, and it is quiet even when the campground next to it is full.
More things to do in Westport & Grayland
Johns River Trail · Westport Light Dune Trail · Bottle Beach State Park · Fisherman's Boardwalk · Furford Cranberry Museum · Grayland Beach State Park