Olympic Peninsula

Forks and La Push

Mora Campground: 22 miles from Forks and on the other side of the Quillayute River from La Push, are Rialto Beach and Mora Campground (our home for two nights). The campground has a dump station with potable water and comfort stations with flush toilets but no showers and the sites in all 4 loops looked pretty much the same – adequate but not outstanding. The reservation kiosk is strangely located in Loop B and like all the other campgrounds we’ve stayed at in the Olympic at this time, it is first come first serve. Look for an empty site, fill out the form, and plop it in the slot.

Rialto Beach: Following the campground map, we tried to walk from the campsite but the short trail inexplicably leads to a busy narrow road – we decided, for safety sake, to drive the quick 1 mile to the beach. Luckily the parking here includes a very large RV area. You can walk right from the parking lot directly on to the beach which is a pebble-y beach, strewn with massive bleached driftwood and surrounded by lush coastal forests and beautiful sea stacks. If you head north from the parking lot about a mile and a half you’ll reach a cluster of sea stacks and a natural arch (creatively called “Hole in the Wall”), which you can pass through to explore its tide pools. Make sure to time your visit at low tide – otherwise, the majority of the hike will be scrambling over giant pieces of driftwood!  It was a tiring walk because about halfway the pebbles became very fine and we were continually sinking in the softer sand – good for the thighs and glutes.

We drove the next day to check out Third beach. Our friends had done this hike while we went to the hole-in-the-wall, and said the tide pools were outstanding. As Cedar is not allowed to Third Beach, they offered to take him off our hands again, and they went to check out the sea stacks.

Third Beach: The parking lot here is quite small but has a few parallel spots where an RV will fit. From the trailhead you hike 2.8 miles round-trip through a mossy forest that’s mostly flat until your final, steep and possibly muddy descent to the beach below. The trail wanders through a second-growth forest of towering hemlocks – In 1921, winds up to 170 miles per hour flattened the area and took down nearly 8 billion board feet of timber, enough to erect 600,000 three-bedroom homes, hence second-growth. Once you make scramble over the huge driftwood logs blocking your path, you’ll be greeted with a wide, sandy beach surrounded by craggy headlands.  On the south end of the beach, there’s Strawberry Bay Falls, cascading over 100 feet down into the ocean below and on the north side, you’ll find fantastic tide pools full of crabs, sea stars, and anemones at low tide. Camping is allowed on the beach and we did see a few families tenting.

Hobuck Beach and Cape Flattery

Continuing North our next destination is the westernmost point of the contiguous US – Cape Flattery. Turning off the main Hwy the road to Neah Bay and the Cape is paved, but hilly and curvy. For quite a ways you drive beside the Strait of Juan da Fuca with amazing views of the ocean. There are a few small villages along the way, but little amenities other than a couple gas stations, and small grocery stores. We are heading to Hobuck Beach for a couple nights, but had to make a stop in Neah Bay to get a Makah Recreation Pass. Although Cape Flattery is a National Park, it is managed by the Makah Tribe.

Hobuck Beach Campground is very different from what we are used to. The camp sites are loosely designated (picnic tables and fire rings are scattered here and there) in a large field. At check-in we were told to just choose a spot we like and park it, so we found a great spot with a short trail to the wide open sandy beach. Dogs can run off leash as long as they are under control, even on the beach (another first for us). There are several ‘campground’ dogs that wander around greeting everyone, hoping for love and food. A bath house is available, a little outdated, but clean and with great water pressure for showers. There are also porta potties, a dish washing station, and a couple outdoor showers for the surfers to wash off their wet suits. The campground also provides, further along the beach, a more formal RV park and cabins.

We spent a lot of time at the beach, playing Bocce, throwing sticks for Cedar, walking in the surf, and from time to time there were ATV’s and trucks zooming up and down the beach. Cedar was so happy here he even went to the beach on his own a few times, grabbed a stick, and brought it to our site (to say, hey let’s go chase sticks). He was bummed when we packed up and left.

Cape Flattery: At the northwest tip of the contiguous United States this 1.5 mile round-trip trail ends in spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. The trail is a moderate hike, heading to the water over several boardwalks and down multiple stairs. Observation decks have been built on both sides, and the tip of the Cape, providing wonderful views into the huge sea caves, and out to the lighthouse on Tatoosh Island. It is an excellent viewing spot for raptors and whales during the fall and spring migrations but all year long you may see Orcas, sea otters or puffins. The northwest coastline of Washington has witnessed a successful sea otter relocation project, from total extinction. The highest concentration can be found from Tatoosh south, with the females and pups residing near Cape Alava. A colony of Murres nests on Tatoosh Island providing a safe location for this very rare and special species of coastal birds. Cormorants nest on the walls of the sea caves and sea stacks – we saw hundreds of them.