WDFW Beach Season Information
Clam, mussel, and oyster seasons OPEN for harvest April 1 and is projected to CLOSE for harvest June 30, 2025.
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.
This beach has been enhanced with oysters.
The most productive area of the beach for Manila and native littleneck clams at Illahee State Park was wiped out by a major slope failure sometime around 1994. Material that came off the hillside blanketed the most productive ground out to deep water. Some native littleneck clams are can still be found in the mid to high intertidal zone. Horse clams, Manila clams, butter clams and cockles are available, but not abundant. In the past there has been some wild geoduck on this beach although digging for them can be very difficult in the boulder and cobble substrate. Clam "necks" (siphons) visible in the hardpan at the south end of the beach are piddock clams, not geoducks. These clams are embedded in very hard substrate and cannot be easily removed from the beach.
This is a very good oyster beach.
To reach the site from either the north or south on Highway 3, take the East Bremerton exit (Highway 303/Waaga Way) at the north end of Silverdale. Follow Highway 303 east for about seven miles to Sylvan Way. There is a sign for the park at this intersection. Take a left and continue for about one and a half miles to the park entrance.
Illahee State Park offers many amenities including, restrooms, picnic areas, kitchen shelters, year-round camping, a dock and boat ramp, a fire circle, horseshoe pits, a softball field, volleyball fields, and a children's play area.
Illahee State Park was acquired in seven parcels between 1934 and 1954. The word "illahee" is from Chinook Jargon and has many meanings: "land, earth, ground", "place; and/or location where one lives", "home place", "heavenly place" or "place of rest". To learn more about Chinook Jargon, visti the Wikipedia page.