Hike #5 – Shi Shi Beach To Cape Alava, Olympic National Park, Washington
Distance: 30 miles / Time Required: 3–5 days / Difficulty: Intermediate
Find Shi Shi Beach in far northwestern Washington, on the coast of the Pacific.
These 15 miles of beachfront property are among the best miles of trail in the whole national park system.
With due respect to the sugar-sand beaches of the world, we like our coastal treks wild, rugged, and with more than a chance of rain. You could parachute into any of the park’s 73 miles of coastline and have the trip of a lifetime, but the very northern tip of the beach gets the nod for its density of sea-sculpted rocks, gritty scrambling, and the oasis of Shi Shi Beach.
Route: After 2 miles of Sitka spruce and Western hemlock forest on the Shi Shi Beach Trail, shimmy down a 50-foot bluff to pop out on Shi Shi Beach, with wide swaths of sand, Jenga-like towers of rock topped with trees called sea stacks, and tide pools rich in starfish and hermit crabs. Point of the Arches, at the beach’s southern boundary, offers a mile-long parade of pinnacles, boulders, and precariously balanced sea arches. For the next 2 miles, the Pacific swallows the beach at several vertical headlands during high tide (carry a tide table and round them only when the tide ebbs).
Finding the trailhead: From Port Angeles, take US-101 west for 5 miles. Turn onto SR-112 west for 64 miles to Neah Bay. Continue on Bayview Avenue for 1 mile and then turn left on Fort Street, turn right on Third Street, and turn left on Cape Flattery Road. Drive 2.5 miles and turn left on Hobuck Road. Drive 4.3 miles, following signs for the fish hatchery to the trailhead
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