Miles: 10 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 207ft/180ft
Map: Green Trails Ozette 130s, my GAIA track.
Favorite Eats After Hike: Turnip The Beet, 101 Brewery at Twana Roadhouse, Nourish Sequim, Linda’s Wood Fired Food, Finn River, Sunsets West Co-op, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike Details:
Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches is an iconic sea stack beach residing on the Makah Reservation on the northwest most point of Washington State. With its sandy shore and jagged rocks jutting out from crashing waves, you get a little taste of what the area has to offer. It takes a few miles in a coastal forest on boardwalks and muddy trail to get to the bluff above the beach, steep stairs take you down to the sand. It is then a long beach walk south to visit the Point of Arches. Camp sites are available in the trees.
My hikes:
11/29/2019
I had hoped to hit low tide the next time I was at Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches but it wasn’t meant to be this trip. One would have to get up awfully early or sleep nearby and we were further down at Mora Campground.
We arrived in Neah Bay at 9am and picked up our permit at the General Store (which conveniently has a public bathroom). Our hike began about 9:40am through the forest and the sea of mud that accompanies any trip report. I can’t swear by it but it appeared to be just a tad bit less than last year (but it could be more that we were mentally prepared for it this year and knew to take the side trail that runs parallel as much as possible).
Our trek down to the beach took about an hour and we were soon down by the shore. The family headed down along Shi Shi Beach towards Point of Arches as most had never been but I opted to explore the the headland and cove to the right instead.
It is not a hard scramble to cross over and down the other side but the path is loose rock and careful steps are needed. I had the cove to myself for an hour or so watching the sun melt the frost on the sand waves lap. My favorite sea stack here is the one that looks like a bunny rabbit. A quartet of sea otters came out from the sea, over a rock outcropping and back into the water and a cave in the headland right in front of me!
I then found a perch back up on the headland and enjoyed the view to the south as more folks came down to the beach. A whale breached offshore for quite awhile, spouting up into the air. The sun was warm on my skin and wind was minimal.
It took my family about 3 hours to return from Point of Arches, they had also gathered garbage just like my husband and I had done last year. This time, however, someone had actually offered to help and with an extra bag my husband had, they also carted out some garbage. Who knew it was a thing to leave frying pans on Shi Shi, yet another one this year.
A brand new outhouse sat back in the trees near the stairs, a serious upgrade from the one there last year.
11/24/2018
As part of our Thanksgiving Weekend to the Washington Coast, we headed north towards the Makah Reservation and Olympic National Park to walk the beach at Shi Shi and Point of Arches.
The trail started off in the coastal forest with puncheon boardwalks in places where the trail is perpetually boggy with salal and cedar lining the path. This is the new trail and reflects an old road in many places as you used to be able to drive much closer to the beach access.
The bridge over Beaver Pond was rather unique and I can imagine a bit challenging if the wood was icy. There were a few inset benches at the top, a great place to rest and see if you can actually spot some beavers at work.
There were plenty of signs as we made 90 degree turns in the trail (old roads do that) towards the original trailhead. Be warned, the last mile or so is a continual mud pit. Although there is a boot path in many places off to the side of the actual trail, know that the dance of avoiding all the muck will add time to your walk.
Once at the trailhead that sits above the beach 2.15 miles from the parking lot, it was time to descend. Maneuvering down the steep stairs, we came out on the sand 50 feet below and the Pacific Ocean lay out before us with the spires of rock jutting out along the coast.
We wandered to the right first and up onto a beachhead to peer down into a cove on the northern side we had seen just before the trailhead above.
Then, looking down the beach to the south we saw our destination far off in the distance, Point of Arches.
We had a 2.75 mile beach walk as the tide was reaching its highest point for the day. It was interesting to see where the campsites are for this walk and think about how it is a part of the Pacific Northwest Trail that starts in Glacier National Park. This first one was about 1.6 miles from where we came down on the beach.
There was one tricky stream crossing at Petroleum Creek, about 4 miles into our hike, and a lower tide would have been helpful. It was here that we donned the rubber boots we had been lugging in our packs and dodged across when the waves washed out. I should say my loving husband was kind enough to lug them since his pack was larger. I had the food, though, so it’s kinda even.
When we reached Point of Arches the tide was too high for us to make our way around the tip but that was okay, our trip was already going to total 10 miles and it made a beautiful spot to stop and enjoy the waves crashing against the rock formations.
Knowing we still had 5 miles to hike back out, we reluctantly left our perch and aimed for the parking lot. Our creek crossing was a bit easier as the tide had begun to ebb but the mud was still there up above to wade through.
Directions: From Port Angeles on US-101, drive west for 55 miles. Turn west onto SR-110 and continue for 7.7 miles. The road veers right onto Mora Road for 5 miles, passing the ranger station to the trailhead at road’s end. Restrooms and water are available. You do need a permit to park and you can find information here and for camping visit the Olympic National Park website. We picked our parking permit up at the Hobuck Campground where we had stayed the night before.
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