Washington Coast's Wild Floats Began Nov. 1, Drops Through April 30

Published 11/01/2026 at 8:58 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Westport, Washington) – It's baaaack.

Starting today, November 1, the central Washington coast is becoming glass float central for a few months, with the downhome, gritty and very real glass fishing floats from Japan peppering the beaches. The Westport area just kicked off Wild Floats 2026 – with very little fanfare and a few mysteries.

It goes through April 30, 2027.

As Lincoln City continues theirs on the Oregon coast, (and Bandon and Gold Beach join in every once in awhile), Westport is dropping the actual thing. From now through February, Westport's beaches will be hosting the smoky green originals from across the Pacific.

The project is organized by the Westport South Beach Historical Society and its Westport Maritime Museum. Funded through the City of Westport's lodging tax, the effort is a case of old traditions finding new life.

In the past, they've always had etchings featuring the year, like "WSBHS 2025." Many years, some 1,000 of these get plopped around over the course of the season.

The society hasn't given out those numbers yet, so look for some updates here in the coming days.

According to John Shaw, executive director of the Westport South Beach Historical Society, they typically don't put out much word, because Wild Floats takes off on its own once a few have been found.

Today was the first drop.

Besides drops in the sand, they employ a "wild release" method that closely mimics how beachcombers once discovered these treasures. The floats are released into the waters off the Washington coast and make their way ashore naturally

"We put them out several ways," he told Oregon Coast Beach Connection in interviews about past events. "By boat, and by overnight release to the surf so that they will land naturally with the tide cycles. We also do some high tide placement with our float wranglers and fairies who typically work at night. The goal is to recreate that magic from the old days of a true beachcombed float."

Shaw said he's watched Lincoln City's event catch fire over the years, and he knew Westport was onto something with its own Driftwood Show where wood markers are hidden on the beach for fun.

“Both are based around very nice glass art but are not 'floats,' “ he said. “They are nice but within the traditional float collector world are purely decorative. We wanted to do something that embraced a more traditional beachcombing experience.”

These are genuine glass fishing floats once used in Japan. They were recovered during tsunami cleanup efforts there and are now being repurposed through the Westport program. Shaw said these are the heavier, sturdier glass floats, often tinted green because they were made from recycled sake bottles. Unlike the thinner decorative versions, these were built to endure decades of use at sea, surviving the often-harsh conditions of the western Pacific until their widespread use ended in the 1970s.

Organizers say to make sure you follow a couple of simple rules, however:

“Don’t hog floats. The nature of a wild release means that occasionally they will bunch up. If you find several, please make one your bag limit and leave others or help visitors. The goal of the program is to share the experience and stories with our visitors.”

Experience Westport says to post your find with the tag #WildFloats.

See the museum site for more as well as Experience Westport. 360-268-0078.

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