North Shi Shi Beach Access - Point of Arches
Aug 10, 2009
by
Angie
—
last modified
Aug 26, 2009 11:25 PM
- Type of Outing
- Multi-night backpack
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Shi Shi Beach and Point of the Arches
- Region: Olympics -- Coast
- Agency: Olympic National Park; Makah Nation
- Avg Rating: 4.32
- Be Aware Of
- Overgrown
- Mudholes
- Water on trail
River otters on the exposed rocks at low tide just below our campsite
My husband and I went on a 2-night/3-day backpacking trip to Shi Shi beach from August 10-12. Our experience was bitter-sweet. Our time at the beach was spectacular after it stopped raining, but it was painstaking and expensive to get there. By the time we paid the $10. Makah Reservation recreation fee, the $13. park service fee for two nights of backpacking, and $10. per day to park on someone's property near the trailhead, we spent over $50. That's more than we've ever spent on any backpacking trip in the last 10 years. The trail, well...be prepared for mud puddle after mud puddle. It had been raining for a few days and was raining the day we hiked in, so there was mud and large puddles of water covering the trail almost the entire way. Because the trail is so overgrown beyond the boardwalk part, it was hard to walk around the mud. Our packs kept getting caught in branches and snagged by berry bushes when we tried to walk on the side of the trail. It wasn't so bad coming out because it had been clear for two days, so there were less puddles but still muddy spots to navigate. Unless you have really good balance, I recommend taking a walking stick to help you balance on logs that people have layed across some of the large pools of mud. I also recommend you put waterproofing spray on your boots and wear waterproof socks, be sure to have a pack cover and rain gear, and take an extra pair of boots or reef walkers in case your boots are soaked by the time you get to the trail. The last 50 feet or so is a steep walk down the side of a cliff, but there are trees and roots to grab onto to help keep you from falling. A rope or railing would be nice, but that would just be dreaming...can someone tell me what our backpacking fee is paying for exactly on this trail? The trail is fairly level except for the final cliff that drops down to the beach, so it would be a fairly quick hike if there wasn't so much mud to slow you down. The final destination is worth the physical effort, though I'm not sure it's worth $53. We got a great campsite up against the cliff not too far from the trailhead but far from other campers, just above some rocks that are exposed at low tide. The only pit toilet was in the trees on the lower part of the trail, just an exposed toilet attached to a board with a hole in it. There are a couple of streams along the cliff (on the beach) where you can filter salt-free water. The highlight for us was seeing a family of three river otters playing on the rocks, a sea otter, a pair of Peregrine falcons--one was feasting on a seagull while the other stood watch on the beach, a humpback whale, two eagles, and unfortunately a dead seal that washed up on the beach. There was even a beat up jet ski that washed up during a storm. We were able to walk about a mile to the Point of Arches at low tide and see all sorts of starfish, anemones, mussels and such in the tide pools. We enjoyed this hike as a one-time trip, but we won't ever do it again and I'm not sure I would recommend it for everyone. If you do go to Shi Shi, I highly recommend allowing an extra hour or two to see Cape Flattery. It's only a few minutes from the Shi Shi parking lot and a short hike out to a beautiful overlook at the junction of the Straight of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean, where you can see Puffins and other sea birds, and sometimes whales, as well as a lighthouse and part of Vancouver Island across the straight. Don't forget your binoculars.
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Point of Arches in the fog
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Cape Flattery on a clear day
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