Hiking the Olympic Coast

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Chuckpacific

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Sorry not to be asking about busted thingamabobs or lapsed warranties on my watchamacallits but we are going to spend this weekend circling the Olympic Peninsula by car and foot (yeah, another no-no...going w/o Steve). It looks like blue sky and crisp so was wondering...does anyone have any favorite sights, best hikes, or points of interest not to be missed on the western Washington Coast?

Chuck
 
Chuck---No Need to apologize for thingamabobs and watchamacllits as good as they are I get my fill of them. Enjoy and inbetween post like this and am looking forward to the input. Its a area we haven't seen, but would like to also in the future.

Jay
 
I would vote for a trip to the Hoh Rain Forest, it should be wet and drizzly as it ought to be when seeing it this time of year. Cape Flattery is impressive too, as far North West as you can get in the lower 48. See the Olympic National Park website for info on the beaches. Have fun!
 
If you're starting at the mouth of the Columbia (Astoria, OR) then a visit to the Columbia River Maritime Museum which features an extraordinary exhibit of CG Rescue Vessels, etc. is not to be missed.
Recommend lunch stop at Kalaloch Lodge ($$$) followed by a stroll along Ruby Beach (listen to NOAA on a weather radio for conditions at Destruction Island).
We haven't yet gotten out to Neah Bay or the neighborhood of Cape Flattery, but Salt Creek Rec Area on the Strait a little west of Port Angeles is a pretty area for an overnight.
Locally in the Sequim area there's the 5.5 mile hike out the spit to the New Dungeness Lighthouse (see www.newdungenesslighthouse.com) or just the overview of the spit, lighthouse and Port Angeles from the bluffs at the Dungeness Recreation Area.

Have a good one and report.

Paul Priest
Sequim
 
Definitely hit the Hoh for a short hike up the trail to sample the majesty of it all, and reflection on what those valleys looked like eons ago.

Also, protect your vehicle from clouting (leave all your valuables at a motel in Forks; lock securely and do not leave anything enticing visible), and hike to Ruby beach, down by La Push. La Push is worth a visit, also, as is the Soleduck, plus Hurricane Ridge, in clear weather. Probably the road to Deer park out of Port Angeles/Sequim is closed, but if you want a a sample of Olympic high country, it is a good spot.

Port Townsend is a treat, and taking the ferry to Whidbey Island from there will give you a good shot at the major shipping access to Puget Sound, and a more itneresting return than the shuffle to the Winslow ferry, if you are doing this clockwise.

Hood Canal is a nice drive, but it may not fit into the circle if you are in a hurry.

I'd recommend the Maritime Museum in Astoria, also, but it is way out of your way if the goal is to circle the Olympics.
 
I'd hit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment. It's a nice museum and the lighthouse nearby is good for a look too. Northhead lighthouse is also a good stop - very pretty.

The fall/winter season on the peninsula is wet, sometimes windy but usually uncrowded. If you have time, the Quinault Lodge is a good place to stay and catch a meal.

The board walk trail at Cape Flattery is definitely worth a hike and if you're out on the Makah reservation the museum there is also worth a stop.
 
Sol Duc hotsprings is good for thawing out, decent cabins, nice short hike to falls too. If you want an easy longer hike, try Cape Alava from Lake Ozette. It can be six miles or the nine mile loop out to the ocean and back on a winding cedar board trail that is fairly level and dry on feet, no marsh wading. Along the shore are ancient Indian petroglyphs, deer, whales, eagles...very romantic. Hurricane ridge is classic. The salmon in the Snohomish river are running now too I think. C.W.
 
Thanks for all the feedback...looks like there are C-Brats that get out of their boats once in awhile. Has anyone done the hike (8 miles round trip)to Shi Shi beach from the end of the road south from Neah Bay? It's said to be the most beautiful beach in the PNW. We'll definitely hit the Hoh River, Sol Doc Falls and Cape Flattery. We're entering the coast at Aberdeen so won't be doing anything south of that (done most of it anyway). The more we look at all there is to do west of Port Angeles the more excited we're getting. Went out to Tomahawk yesterday, ran the engines a bit, plugged in the heater (90 watt element with fan to keep the moisture out of the cabin) for the season and apologized to Steve for not taking him along on the trip. These next 5 months are my favorite time on the Columbia...peace and solitude without the 17 footers....(alcohol fueled Bayliner ski boats, just so the CD-16 owners understand). To everyone....have a great Thanksgiving. I hope Kalaloch Lodge has a good Thursday meal.
 
We left LO early Wednesday morning arriving at Aberdeen for lunch. The fog we had encountered early on was burnt off by then. Afterward we drove up the coast stopping at Kalaloch for a quick ocean view. Then we went to the Lake Quinault Lodge for a peek before heading down the Hoh River for the Hall of Mosses trail. Although short it is definitely worth the time spent. We stayed in Forks at the Forks Motel (large clean, cheap rooms).
The next morning we left for Neah Bay. The temp when we woke up was 27 but as all PNWers know, the colder, the bluer. The drive along the Strait of Juan de Fuca was spectacular. At Neah Bay we bought our Makah tribal recreation permit ($10) and after a quick dock walk to look at the fishing boats headed south. About 4.5 miles later we parked at the Shi Shi beach trailhead. The trail was extremely wet and muddy and we regretted wearing low top shoes but we soon found ourselves at the top of a hill looking down several hundred feet at the beach. After a steep descent we scrambled over a line of driftwood and logs to witness what the books had all said....the most beautiful beach in the PNW (and believe me, we've seen quite a few). The beach is about 1-1/2 - 2 miles long with sea stacks at each end and encased by high hills/cliffs. After 2 hours and lunch we returned to the car.
We then went to Cape Flattery. Whereas Shi Shi had been largely unpopulated Cape Flattery had plenty of visitors all of whom were undeterred by the elevated 30 inch wide cedar plank walkway with no handrails…including a woman in a wheelchair. The walk was short (¾ mile) and was rewarded by a fantastic view of the coastline and Tatoosh Island from high above the water.
We returned to Forks having cold pizza (from the night before)and Cheetos (from a gas station) for dinner as everything in town was closed for Thanksgiving.
Friday we woke to 26 degrees and hungrily stormed into one of the restaurants for a lumberjack breakfast. Fully fueled we left for Sol Duc Falls (rated a ‘10’) near Lake Crescent. Unfortunately it was closed for the season (access road padlocked) and so we drove further down the road to Marymere Falls. Rated a ‘9’ the 1-½ mile trail led through a forest before climbing the side of a ravine on a cedar plank walkway and stairs. The nearly 100 foot tall falls was beautiful and worth the trip. In addition a full frost had turned the nearby meadows into fairy landscapes.
We backtracked nearly to Forks and took the turn-off to Mora/La Push. First we turned toward Mora until we reached Rialto Beach. This was a very open area at the mouth of the Quillayute River. There was a long ridge of huge drift logs then a steep beach made of black pebbles (not sand). It was easily another favorite as we sat on the logs, watched the pipelines hit the shore and had lunch.
We backtracked to the fork and turned toward La Push. As native American reservations go (and we’ve seen quite a few) the Quillayute town of La Push is clean and prosperous looking. After a brief tour we went back about a mile to the 2nd Beach trailhead. Again a short walk (2 mile total) through forest before heading downhill to the beach (100 steps). This beach is truly a ‘one of a kind’. Again, a huge ridge of drift logs but then the flattest dark brown sand beach I’ve ever seen…maybe 2-300 yards from low tide water to high tide line. And then the defining features….20-30 sea stacks of all different sizes and shapes….all framed by high hills/cliffs. It’s a very good thing we saw this beach in sunlight because with fog it would have been way too eerie and spooky. We hiked all along the water looking at tide pools and taking pictures of the sea stacks.
Back in Forks we had a real evening meal for a change and turned in. The next morning we left. The weather had changed bringing light drizzle and clouds. On the way back we stopped at Ruby Beach, considered another of the PNW’s best. Well………..if Ruby Beach was the only beach you ever saw you’d be happy but, alas, it just didn’t measure up to what we had seen farther north. We pulled into our driveway (260 miles, 5 hours) around 2:30 PM, Saturday afternoon ending the perfect Thanksgiving weekend trip.
I wouldn’t have made this landlocked entry to a sea farer’s website had I not been encouraged by some of your replies to my initial inquiry. I heartily recommend the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula to anyone with a little curiosity and the stamina to hike into these remote and stunningly spectacular beaches.

Chuck
 
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