We finally made it to the Washington coast this past weekend with our friend Nyssa. We had heard from several people that this was their favorite part of the state or even one of their favorite places in the world, so we were quite intrigued to see what was in store for us. It rained off and on the entire weekend, which first we were bummed about, but then realized that just meant we got the true Pacific Northwest experience! We were able to check out a lot of the coastline in one weekend- keep reading to learn how.
Kalaloch Beach
We reserved a campsite at Kalaloch Campground about four months in advance, which was good because it was full when we arrived late Friday night after work. It took roughly three hours to drive to our site from Silverdale. We tried our best to assemble our tents quickly in the dark and rainy situation we found ourselves in, but a lot of the inside tent still got soaked. Once we settled into our dry sleeping bags, we could hear the ocean waves perfectly from our tent which lulled us into a slumber. We woke up in the morning and realized we were sleeping in a lush, green forest that plunges into the sandy beach! We walked to the entrance of the campground parking lot and found a short trail to Kalaloch Beach. This was a large beach with nice sand and our favorite part was the Tree Root Cave, a cypress tree with its roots exposed. Beyond this, it is kind of boring.
Kalaloch Campground
Great campground in the forest right on the coast!
Checking out Kalaloch Beach’s Tree Root Cave!
Kalaloch Campground
Great campground in the forest right on the coast!
Checking out Kalaloch Beach’s Tree Root Cave!
Shi Shi Beach
After checking out Kalaloch, we hopped in the car and started our two hour drive up to Shi Shi Beach. We parked at the Shi Shi Beach Trailhead and did the 8.5 mile, mostly flat, hike out and back to Point of Arches. The first 2.3 miles of this trail is in a beautiful forest and the latter two miles is on the beach. The beach is riddled with numerous crab shells, mostly completely devoured by the multiple seagulls lingering around the tide. It was quite rainy and foggy on this Saturday morning, so we had this beach to ourselves for a while! We hiked all the way down to Point of Arches and found a rock overlooking a cove to eat lunch on. Our favorite part about this beach was the seclusion factor and the fact that it was the longest beach hike we did during this weekend.
Beautiful 2 mile trail to Shi Shi beach
Found a banana slug!
Crazy cool branches in this lush forest
The area just before Shi Shi Beach we would love to camp at if we return!
Found a crab!
Shi Shi Beach
Point of Arches
Found a cove for lunch!
Coors Light Ad?!
More of Shi Shi Beach
Part of the well-maintained trail to Shi Shi Beach
Beautiful 2 mile trail to Shi Shi beach
Found a banana slug!
Crazy cool branches in this lush forest
The area just before Shi Shi Beach we would love to camp at if we return!
Found a crab!
Shi Shi Beach
Point of Arches
Found a cove for lunch!
Coors Light Ad?!
More of Shi Shi Beach
Part of the well-maintained trail to Shi Shi Beach
Cape Flattery
Just a 20-minute drive north from Shi Shi trailhead is Cape Flattery, located on the upper corner of the coast. We parked at the Cape Flattery Trailhead and did the 1.2 mile out and back Cape Flattery Trail. Being a shorter distance, it is pretty popular compared to our first two hikes. There were several cool overlooks on this trail, and when you make it to the last turnaround point, you are at the most northwestern tip of the contiguous U.S. Our favorite part about Cape Flattery was the deep teal water filling the dramatic coves, Tatoosh Island, and the matter that everything in front of us was simply ocean.
Cape Flattery: the most Northwest point in the U.S.
Pretty teal water even with cloudy skies
Cape Flattery
Cape Flattery: the most Northwest point in the U.S.
Pretty teal water even with cloudy skies
Cape Flattery
Rialto Beach
From Cape Flattery, we drove 1.5 hours south to Rialto Beach. Rialto beach was the busiest place we encountered this weekend, but it was unique in that it had the most gigantic bleached white driftwood we’ve ever seen in one place. It was filled with colorful pebbles, and you can hike to the Hole-in-the-Wall arch surrounded by tide pools if you head off north up the beach. It was about 3.5 miles to hike to the hole-in-the-wall and back from the Rialto Beach Parking Lot. The tide pools were our favorite part at this beach because we found some vibrant green anemone and lots of clams!
Rialto Beach
Found an anemone in the tide pools!
Hole in the Wall
Gnarly driftwood
Rialto Beach
Found an anemone in the tide pools!
Hole in the Wall
Gnarly driftwood
Ruby Beach
After checking out Rialto Beach, we made the just under an hour drive down to Ruby Beach to have dinner while watching the sunset. Ruby Beach also has a lot of driftwood and more pebbles than soft sand. It is home to several sea stacks with pools just off the coast to provide reflections of these beautiful natural structures. We have heard Ruby Beach has some of the best sunsets in the world. Unfortunately, it was too overcast on this Saturday evening to see the sunset at all. Even though we missed the sunset all together, we still enjoyed our time at Ruby Beach because of the contrasting colors and ever-changing cloud formations. We enjoyed some pasta using Nyssa’s JetBoil which was pretty slick. It boiled a liter of water in about five minutes and then cooked our pasta in the usual nine minutes. We also enjoyed a beer or two while envisioning what the sunsets actually look like here which have made it into popular travel magazines.
So much drfitwood!
Dinner at Ruby Beach!
The clouds blocked the sunset, but we still got some cool views!
So much drfitwood!
Dinner at Ruby Beach!
The clouds blocked the sunset, but we still got some cool views!
After hitting five beaches in one day, we decided it was time to head back to our campground. Luckily the rain stopped, so we were able to start a campfire that lasted the night. While reminiscing about our favorite parts of the day, we enjoyed liquid s’mores. When contemplating purchasing s’more items for this weekend at the grocery store, Adam found Stephen’s S’more Gourmet Hot Cocoa, which became a great alternative. We used Nyssa’s JetBoil again to quickly boil some water and added this delicious hot cocoa mix to each of our mugs.
La Push
When Sunday morning came, we packed up our gear and drove an hour north to La Push. Our first stop was La Push’s First Beach. This beach was right on the edge of town and you could drive right up to it. We checked this one out briefly, but it was so windy our hats were flying off, so we didn’t last long. From here, we got back on 110 South and found the Second Beach Trailhead just down the road. This was about a 1.5 mile out and back hike through forest that ended with you traversing over huge pieces of driftwood just to set your feet on the soft sand. We decided Second Beach has the best sand of the beaches we visited this weekend and it has a nice secluded feel. There were some people camping right on the beach here which we would love to do when we return! Our last stop near La Push was Third Beach, which was just a bit further south on 110. We parked in the Third Beach parking lot and did the almost three mile out and back hike, again through thick rainforest. Our favorite part about Third Beach was all the driftwood crashing down a moderate sized creek coming up from the beach. All in all, if you only have time for one beach near La Push, we would highly recommend Second Beach for any part of the day.
La Push First Beach
More of La Push First Beach
Navigating driftwood to get to La Push Second Beach
La Push Second Beach
Crazy amount of driftwood at La Push Third Beach
La Push Third Beach
La Push First Beach
More of La Push First Beach
Navigating driftwood to get to La Push Second Beach
La Push Second Beach
Crazy amount of driftwood at La Push Third Beach
La Push Third Beach
Sol Duc Falls
After checking out the La Push beaches, we drove a little over an hour north up highway 101 to the Sol Duc Falls Trailhead. You need to enter Olympic National Park to do this hike, so make sure to bring your National Park Pass. Sol Duc Falls Nature Trail is a beautiful 1.5 mile out and back easy hike that brings you right to a three-pronged waterfall as you are standing on a wooden bridge overlooking the whole natural phenomenon. We really enjoyed being immersed in the rainforest during this hike, but it was also a very busy spot, with a small hot springs resort located just prior to the trailhead parking lot.
Sol Duc Falls Nature Trail: easy 1.5 mile hike
Welcome to the world of moss!
Beautiful trail!
The most vibrant green oasis!
Sol Duc Falls
Sol Duc Falls Nature Trail: easy 1.5 mile hike
Welcome to the world of moss!
Beautiful trail!
The most vibrant green oasis!
Sol Duc Falls
Next Door Gastropub
After all this hiking through the rain and wind, it was time for some warm food and beer! We were driving through Port Angeles on our way home anyway, so we decided to try the Next Door Gastropub again. Last time we tried, the wait was over an hour, so we didn’t end up eating there. This time, we only waited 10 minutes and we thought it was worth the wait. They have a variety of rotating local beers on tap, a tasty menu, and a cozy feeling with plenty of TVs around the bar area. We both went with the create your own grilled cheese option and were pleased with our sides of fresh cut chips or fries. This was the perfect salty meal after a very full weekend!
Next Door Pub in downtown Port Angeles
Local beers and tasty food
Build your own grilled cheese and fresh cut potato chips!
Next Door Pub in downtown Port Angeles
Local beers and tasty food
Build your own grilled cheese and fresh cut potato chips!
Once our bellies were full, we hit the road back home for about 1.5 hours. This was a pretty crazy weekend, but we were able to see a lot of the coast in one swoop! Each beach really has its own vibe, so if you can, try to get to a variety of beaches on the Washington coast. Don’t let the weather scare you away- we still enjoyed our beach days in the rain.
Love all the pictures and you guys sure do see much in a weekend which is great! Happy to see this awesome post and that you are enjoying Washington! Wishing you continued happy trails and love seeing your adventures! Carolyn and Dj
Thanks Carolyn! We have definitely been enjoying exploring the Pacific NW. We hope all is well in New Mexico! Thanks for reading 🙂
Beautiful photos. This set says Washington deserves its reputation of cloudy, misty, and cool.
Yes, the stereotype has proven true! It is a beautiful area, rain or shine. Thanks for reading 🙂