A great loop any time of year: explore quiet maritime forest and the bird-saturated Willapa Bay shoreline on the wild northern tip of the Long Beach Peninsula. Chances are good that you'll sight bear, deer, or otter along the way.

Leadbetter Point consists of Washington's wildest coastal lands outside of Olympic National Park. Undeveloped and untrammeled, over 3000 acres of dunes, salt marshes, and maritime forest and more than 8 miles of vehicle-free ocean and bay beaches are protected within a state park and a national wildlife refuge.

Over 6 miles of trail traverse 1200-acre Leadbetter Point State Park and offer access to both the Pacific and the adjacent Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. While most hikers may be enticed to head directly to Leadbetter Point's wide, sandy ocean beach, the area's real charms lie within its diverse bay and forest ecosystems. The Dune Forest Loop is a great introduction to these wildlife-rich habitats. And if you're looking for a good winter hike in the region, this loop isn't subject to the flooding that keeps the coastal trails under water for half the year.

Start your loop by heading left (west) on the Red Trail, also known as the Dune Forest Loop. Solid tread soon yields to loose sand, slowing your momentum. In 0.5 mile come to a junction with the Blue Trail, which leads 0.8 mile to the Pacific. Continue left, hiking along a sand ridge-an old dune that has since been colonized by shore pine, wax myrtle, salal, and bearberry (kinnikinnick). After another 0.5 mile the trail turns inland (east). As the sound of the surf fades into the distance, Sitka spruce begins to dominate the forest.

In 2.1 miles from the trailhead come to the park access road (and an alternate trailhead). Cross the road, making your way to Willapa Bay. The trail now turns north for 0.8 mile, hugging the shoreline of the bay. Enjoy views of the expansive bay set against a backdrop of rolling, cloud-hugging hills. Birdlife is profuse. Pelicans, marbled godwits, loons, grebes, mergansers-over a hundred species in all ply these waters and saltflats. Eagles can often be spotted on overhanging snags. Mammals are abundant too. If hiking during low tide, scan the mudflats for raccoon, bear, and elk tracks. In 2.9 miles close the loop.