North Shi Shi Beach Access - Point of Arches

Seeing the Sea stacks was something we wanted to do on a hike for a long time. We decided that whatever be the weather, we would go to the Shi-Shi beach in the Makah nation.

The drive from Seattle is around 4.5 hrs, and with breaks for rest, it can be around 5.5 hrs. We reached the trailhead around 1:30 PM. The drive on SR 112 west is full of curves, but beautiful when you have the ocean around.

We went on a rainy day. It rains most of the days near the Shi-Shi beach, and the day we went was no different. The views of the ocean are filled with mist when it rains. It must be really good when sunny or even cloudy.

The trail head is easy to find from the town of Neah Bay. The trail consists of 2 distinct stretches, one from trail head to beach, and the other along the beach. Both are almost 2 miles each, so the total one way distance is around 4 miles. The first stretch from trailhead to beach was full of mudholes.It was extremely muddy, soggy, wet, some pits had lots of water, and most of our shoes got easily wet. In fact, its a very difficult hike for the first 2 miles just because of the extent of mud. Lot of perseverence is a must to cross the first 2 miles. In extremely bad portions of the trail, look out for some side trails [near the side of the main trail] and try to use that whenever you can. The trail is very very slippery and lot of caution is needed.

The hike is fairly flat but its strenuous only because of the muddy trails. Once down to the beach, its beautiful. The beach was beautiful even in the rain, and so it must be awesome on a sunny day. We could see the sea stacks and point of arches at some distance from the first entry point on the beach. The sea stacks were not clearly visible because of the mist formed by the rain. Still it looked good.

We had to hike for some 2 more miles to reach the Point of Arches where the view of the sea stack is great because you are very close to it. Hiking on the beach is a little bit tricky, because the beach is not a flat surface and it is some amount of strain on the ankles and legs to hike on such a soft surface. There are no trail markers once in the beach, and we just kept going left to a place full of sea stacks which we assumed would be the Point of Arches based on some of the pictures we had seen before.

We did not check the tide maps and stuff, but we were lucky enough to be able to reach Point of Arches easily. The view of the sea stacks was majestic, and we were left wondering how the view could have if there were no rain. On a sunny day, the sunset should be really awesome and even the views of the sea stack simply majestic. The ocean water wave crashing sound was simply great to hear and reminded us the power of nature and water. It was cold with the breeze and we were feeling colder because we had been wet, water entering our shoes, and continuing showers. But with so less people around, it was a nice place to enjoy solitude at this time of the year.

After spending some time at Point of Arches, we headed back. All the struggle against muddy trails continued, and we are quite happy to reach the parking lot by 6 PM. A drive of another 5 hours and we reached Seattle.

For those looking to visit this hike, my suggestions would be to check the forecast and go only if its sunny. The mud would probably be gone, and the sea stacks would be terrific. And if possible, make it a backpack. There are some nice places to camp in the beach away from the tides.

Bottomline: Its a must go hike just for the sea stacks but plan well for the forecast and go on a sunny day.