Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [308]
Hikes
The park has a vast number of trails, and they all seem to connect somewhere. Consequently, it's very easy to tie several trails together to create your own customized route. For a complete listing, write ahead for a free Olympic National Park map from the Wilderness Information Center, Olympic National Park, 600 East Park Ave., Port Angeles, WA 98362.
The following is a partial, though representative, list of some of the many wonderful trails in the park. Backcountry permits are required for overnight trips. They're available at the Wilderness Information Center, behind the main visitor center in Port Angeles (☎ 360/565-3100), and at all ranger stations. During the summer, you may also need reservations for certain areas. You'll pay a $5 registration fee for wilderness camping for groups of up to 12 people, plus $2 per person per night. Call the Wilderness Information Center for information.
COASTAL AREA
Cape Alava/Sand Point Loop
9.1 miles RT. Easy. Access: Ozette Ranger Station.
This loop begins with a stroll over a cedar-plank boardwalk through teeming coastal marsh and grasslands. (Careful! Boards are slippery when wet, which is most of the time.) The trail connects to its second leg on a wilderness beach strip of the Pacific shoreline, the westernmost point in the Lower 48. Camping is permitted on the beach, but beware—it's a popular spot in the summer. Continue south 1 mile past the petroglyphs that can be seen from the rocks along the shore next to the high-tide line. Two miles south, the trail connects to the Sand Point leg, which is an easy stroll back to the Ozette Ranger Station. A permit and reservation are required here. Call the Wilderness Information Center.
Hoh River to Queets River
14.7 miles one-way. Easy to moderate. Access: Ruby Beach parking lot.
The beaches here are wide and flat, and the surf fishing is good. With this trail's proximity to U.S. 101, you can expect to see a lot of people here in the summer. This section, compared to the more northern trails, is fairly tame. Destruction Island Overlook is famous for its whale-watching from March to April and November to December.
Warning: Coastal hiking can be treacherous. Tides can trap you. Never round headlands without knowledge of the tide heights and times. Carry a tide chart. Obtain additional information from the Wilderness Information Center.
Sand Point to Rialto Beach
17 miles one-way. Easy to moderate. Access: Ozette Ranger Station from the north or Mora Campground from the south.
This is a coastline famous for its shipwrecks, the memorials of which dot the beach at many points, along with an abandoned mine. Other than that, there's not a lot of man-made activity. Enjoy the sand and the mist, take in the forests that come down to land's end, and get ready for the storms that visit here regularly.
Second Beach Trail
.7 mile one-way. Easy. Access: Second Beach parking area on La Push Rd., 14 miles west of U.S. 101.
Wander through a lovely forest to a sandy beach, with tide pools and sea stacks. A long set of stair steps awaits at the end. For a short hike, this is hard to beat.
Third Beach to Hoh River
17 miles one-way. Moderate to strenuous. Access: Third Beach parking area, 3 miles beyond La Push Rd. left fork.
This trail is not a leisurely stroll. You'll do a bit of inland skirting along old oil company roads to avoid some of the more wicked headlands, and there are some sand ladders (contraptions constructed of cables and wooden slats) just beyond Taylor Point. In addition, a slightly treacherous crossing is farther south at Goodman Creek. So what's the reward for the intrepid hiker? Toleak Point is approximately 5 miles down the beach, where there is a sheltered campsite that's famous for its wildlife. The entire area is well known for its shipwrecks, wildlife, coastal headlands, and stacks. The