By Jim McCausland, Sunset senior writer

Photos courtesy Seabrook

Northwest native people had a saying: When the tide is out, the table is set. They were talking clams, oysters, and crabs, and I share their love for all of them. But for my taste, razor clams are the best. This year, try clamming at the south end of Pacific Beach at Seabrook, one of the Washington coast's most productive and beautiful razor clam beaches.

The next open clamming dates are November 13-16 and December 11-14 (Thursday through Sunday in both cases).

The best clamming is at low tide, which comes just before sunrise and just after dark on these dates. You can still clam after dawn and before dark, of course, but more clamming beach is exposed earlier and later.

To make it easy on yourself, rent one of the new cabins at Seabrook. It's their low season, so you can get in for $109 per night—I've been in these cabins, and that's a steal—and they're offering several other off-season bargains as well.

All you need for clamming is a clam gun (a pipe with a handle, shown above) and, if you're over 15, a shellfish license. You push the pipe into the sand over the dimple that indicates that a clam is below, create a vacuum in the pipe by putting your finger over a small hole in the top, and pull out a core of sand with razor clam inside.

A wooded community of beach cabins just south of Pacific Beach and less than 3 hours west of Seattle, Seabrook is great for clamming because it's so little known and because cars are kept off the beach for much of the year.