Backpacking Washington: From Volcanic Peaks to Rainforest Valleys

By Douglas Lorain and Mark Wetherington

Get ready for a lifetime of awe-inspiring adventures

In Washington, backpackers can explore wild beaches, enjoy sparkling lakes and streams, hike amid stunning granite peaks, relax in wildflower meadows, and pass through unspoiled forests. Discover 26 of Washington’s best and most diverse backpacking trips (plus 13 bonus ones) with expert backpackers Douglas Lorain and Mark Wetherington. Backpacking Washington details the premier opportunities across the entire state. This fully updated edition describes scenic escapes ranging from one night to two weeks. Choose from carefully crafted trips in Mount Rainier National Park, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, the North Cascades, the Olympic Coast, the Olympic Mountains, Pasayten Wilderness, Salmo-Priest Wilderness, and more. Each carefully crafted itinerary offers geographic diversity, beautiful landscapes, and attainable daily mileage goals.

This in-depth guide provides all the information backpackers need, including trail highlights, mileage, elevation gain, days on the trail, shuttle distances, required permits, and more—not to mention photographs and detailed trail maps. Plus, ratings for scenery, solitude, and difficulty help you to find the exact adventure you seek. Whether you’re a novice backpacker or a veteran hiker, with this many options, you may have trouble deciding where to go first!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilderness Press
• Release date: Feb 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9780899978574

Book preview

FEATURED TRIPS

Looking south down Rialto Beach from Hole-in-the-Wall

photographed by Douglas Lorain

1

OLYMPIC COAST: NORTH

RATINGS:   Scenery 9   Solitude 4   Difficulty 9

MILES: 33 (33)

ELEVATION GAIN: 1,100′ (1,140′)

DAYS: 4–7 (4–7)

SHUTTLE MILEAGE: 68

MAP: Custom Correct North Olympic Coast

USUALLY OPEN: Year-round

BEST: May/September–October

PERMIT: Required. As of 2019, the nonrefundable cost of a permit is $6 with an additional charge of $8 per adult in your party per night in the park. Alternatively, for $55 you can purchase an annual Olympic National Park Wilderness Pass, which covers all nightly fees for one person for the entire year. Hikers under the age of 16 are free.

Permits are limited for certain campsites on the suggested itinerary for this trip, and reservations are strongly recommended. Visit nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/wilderness-reservations.htm for up-to-date information about quotas and reservations. Reservations are accepted starting 6 months in advance of your planned trip, either in person at one of the park’s wilderness information centers or online via recreation.gov. Check the park’s website for the latest procedures and requirements.

From Ellen Creek in the south to just below Yellow Banks, and on Shi Shi Beach north of Point of the Arches, permits are not limited and no reservation is needed (just pick up a permit at the nearest ranger station). From Yellow Banks to Point of the Arches, however, you are required to have a permit that must be reserved in advance. No first-come, first-served permits are given out unless the quota for an area has not been filled, which almost never happens.

RULES: Secure all food and other odorous items in hard-sided containers, such as bear canisters, to keep out raccoons; maximum group size of 12 people; designated camps must be used at Sand Point; dogs are not allowed; fires are prohibited from Yellow Banks north to Wedding Rocks.

CONTACT: Olympic National Park, 360-565-3100, nps.gov/olym

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS

Sublime coastal scenery, abundant wildlife

CHALLENGES

Often foggy and/or rainy weather; tide concerns; extraordinarily rugged hiking and/or bushwhacking over steep and brushy headlands or on slippery rocks south of Point of Arches; muddy inland trails; long car shuttle; food-stealing raccoons

HOW TO GET THERE

From Forks, drive 1 mile north on US 101 to a junction with La Push Road (also known as WA 110).

To reach the recommended starting point, turn left (west), drive 7.9 miles, then go right (west) on Mora Road. Proceed 5 miles to the road-end trailhead at Rialto Beach Picnic Area.

To reach either of the two possible ending points, you continue north on US 101 from the La Push Road junction and drive 10.5 miles to the tiny community of Sappho. Turn left (north) onto WA 113, following signs to Northwest Coast and Ozette Lake, drive 10.2 miles, and then go straight at a junction, now on WA 112. Proceed 11 miles to a well-signed junction with the Hoko-Ozette Road.

If you are making this a shorter trip by finishing at Ozette Lake, then turn left (south) and drive 21.8 miles to the spacious gravel parking lot at road’s end, just past the seasonally staffed Ozette Ranger Station.

Those planning on doing the longer trek to Shi Shi Beach should continue on WA 112 from the Hoko-Ozette junction. Follow this scenic highway 15.4 miles to the town of Neah Bay and Washburn’s General Store on your left. Stop here to purchase a tribal recreation use permit, which allows you to hike on Makah Reservation land. As of 2019, the price was a very reasonable $10 for an annual pass. From here you continue on the main road for 0.9 mile, make two 90º turns (first left on Fort Street, then right on Third Avenue), and come to a junction. Go left (southwest) on Cape Flattery Road, drive 2.4 miles, then turn left (southeast) onto Hobuck Road, following signs to the Fish Hatchery. This road immediately takes you over a bridge spanning the Waatch River. After just 0.1 mile you keep straight at a four-way junction, and go 1.8 miles to another junction. Go straight on Tsoo–Yess Beach Road, which makes an immediate sharp left, and stay on the main paved road for another 2 miles. Turn left (southeast) onto Fish Hatchery Road, and go 0.2 mile to a gravel trailhead parking area on the right.

WARNING: This trailhead has experienced periodic problems with car break-ins. It is safer to arrange a shuttle than to leave a car parked here for several days. Without that, your best bet is to park at a private home 0.6 mile short of the trailhead and pay a parking fee to the homeowner.

GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES:

Southern (Rialto Beach): N47° 55.285′ W124° 38.285′

Central alternate ending (Ozette Lake): N48° 09.282′ W124° 40.136′

Northern ending (Shi Shi Beach): N48° 17.616′ W124° 39.890′

INTRODUCTION

The wild Olympic Coast is a national treasure. With most of our country’s shoreline altered by roads, cities, and mobs of tourists, it’s a blessing to have this stretch of wilderness beach to remind us of what we’ve lost. The dramatic coast is broken by roads on either side of the Quillayute River, but north and south of this obstacle stretches the most spectacular wild shoreline in the continental United States.

Both the northern and the southern sections of the Olympic Coast have popular and highly rewarding hiking routes, and hikers with adequate time and energy are encouraged to do both sections. On either trip you will see crashing waves, scenic offshore rocks, dense inland forests, and abundant wildlife. The northern section is longer but, except for the extremely rough far northern section just before you reach the Point of Arches, is generally less rugged. Previous editions of this guide recommended that hikers exit at Ozette Lake and skip that particularly rugged far northern section. Although that stretch is still very rough and should only be attempted by experienced and determined hikers, increased use in recent years has made it somewhat more hikable. In addition, by adding Point of Arches and Shi Shi Beach to your itinerary, you’ll enjoy some of the finest coastal scenery in the world. So if you’re up for the considerable challenge, it’s well worth the extra time and effort. Less athletic hikers can exit at Ozette Lake and still have a great trip.

Obviously the beach can be hiked in either direction. Your choice will probably be dictated by when you can get a permit and by the weather, because it’s always nicer to hike with the wind at your back. The trip is described here from south to north.

DESCRIPTION

The trail heads north from the parking lot, traveling near the edge of the forest as it wanders past the popular Rialto Beach Picnic Area. After just 100 yards the forest ends at the edge of the wide sandy expanse of Rialto Beach. The sand here is really a deep layer of loose gray pebbles, which makes the hiking rather tiring. Your efforts are handsomely rewarded, however, with pretty views looking south-southwest to large James Island, north to distant Cape Johnson, and west to the waves and seemingly endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Take time to explore the many jagged rocks and tidepool areas immediately along the shore. Just inland from the beach are hundreds of dead snags—the former trees killed by salt spray—where you are likely to see bald eagles perched and taking in the scene.

You should expect this initial section to be very crowded because this easily accessible and scenic beach is understandably popular. Once you wade across Ellen Creek at 0.8 mile, however, the crowds rapidly diminish and eventually peter out to just a handful of hardy backpackers. Dogs are not permitted on the beach beyond Ellen Creek, but on the plus side, backpackers are allowed to camp anywhere north of the stream.

About 0.6 mile north of Ellen Creek, you pass Split Rock, a very photogenic pair of sharply pointed rock pinnacles rising directly out of the sand.

Only 0.1 mile beyond Split Rock is another major highlight: Hole-in-the-Wall. This enormous arch protrudes well out onto the sand and can only be rounded at extremely low tide. However, you have two other options. At medium tides you can hike out across a shelf of mussel-covered rocks and walk through the huge hole in the arch to the other side. At high tide, you can bypass the arch entirely by taking a steep scramble trail that climbs over the inland side of the formation. All routes take you to a lovely little cove just north of Hole-in-the-Wall, which is well worth taking the time to explore for both its scenery and abundant tidepools.

Now the hiking becomes more challenging, as you must negotiate sandy areas, large boulders, tidepools, and jumbles of slippery rocks. Your progress will be relatively slow, but hiking this wilderness shoreline is all about the scenery and the wildlife, not setting a fast pace. Dozens of offshore pinnacles and hulking rocks offer excellent photo opportunities.

As you pass the first major rocky headland north of Hole-in-the-Wall, look for a boot-hardened path on the inland side that makes for easier and safer travel than scrambling over the slippery rocks. At high tide this rocky spot may be temporarily impassable until the water recedes. Past this point you travel on a narrow pebbly beach, from which you can look north to the large jutting headland of Cape Johnson. The beach itself is tucked neatly between a line of tangled driftwood and Sitka spruce forest on your right and a shelf of seaweed-covered rocks on your left. Thus, while walking on the pebbles can be tiring, it is clearly a better option than either fighting through the driftwood or taking a fall on the slippery rocks.

An arch in the cove north of Shi Shi Beach

photographed by Douglas Lorain

You follow this sweeping beach to the north end of a little cove where there are two possible (but usually dry) campsites a little more than 2.2 miles from Hole-in-the-Wall. A small memorial just inland from the camps commemorates the crash of a Chilean ship near this spot in November