As part of a birthday weekend, my husband and I drove up from our family beach home on Willapa Bay to check out birding at Leadbetter Point. I'd heard 30 species on a dog walk earlier that morning, so I was anticipating adding some more. 

We got a new Discover Pass and displayed our temporary purchase information. At the trailhead, we discovered dogs were not allowed on trails in the Wildlife Refuge, so he stayed in the car with our daughter. 

Unfortunately, as lovely as the trail was, we only heard 4 bird species. Could be the time of day (afternoons are not the best for birding) but it wasn't the wind (there wasn't any.) Fortunately, this gave us lots of opportunity to chat. 

We walked the 1.4 miles along the Dune Forest Loop to Weather Beach Trail, got to the ocean and scanned the beach for anything, but ended up turning right around. 2.8 miles in a little over an hour.

The trail itself is a combination of tunnel paths and sand, with a few duck-unders, but quite nice and mostly flat. Total mileage perfect for testing out my new backpack. If we'd had more time (and interest from our daughter) we might have visited the Martha Jordan birding trail but at least our drive along the beach yielded a lot more variety including a turkey vulture feasting on a sea lion carcass and brown pelicans.

The area is worth visiting as a short leg stretcher, but seasonally, spring might be better for migrating birds.

The line for the latrine was quite long (and very smelly); I deferred use to the one a mile farther south, which didn't have a line of people waiting for it and had recently been cleaned and restocked with toilet paper. I have a fondness in my heart for the beach and was glad to get a different kind of short, birding hike going into some long ones in September.

#hikethestate

Best done during a low tide, I combined this trail with the Dune Forest loop for around a 12.8mi trip.

Lots of fog, to where everything was shades of grey and beige.

Saw heaps of plovers and some other seabirds. Just make sure you don't trespass beyond the signs up for plover nesting.

This is a great trail to have to yourself. Hardly ran into anyone today. It's so peaceful, no cars or trucks on the beach, just the sound of the ocean.

Other than shells and jellyfish, I found a dead sea lion halfway up the beach. Looks to have been there a while, poor guy.

Really was the perfect time for this area - lots of the trails are flooded in winter and mosquitoes can be awful early summer but no water on the trail and no bugs right now. Expect soggy socks from all the dew on the plants early in the morning. Most the forest trails are narrow and a tad brushy, but easy to find. It feels like a green tunnel at times.

I had planned to do the hike that Dan Nelson mentioned in his 2nd edition of Best Hikes with Dogs. Things change and this particular hike can no longer be done with a dog. In the 3 hikes mentioned by WTA, all say "no dogs allowed;" however, that has changed a bit also in that on a some sections dogs are allowed on leash.

There is pretty good signage about it on the trail, but it can also be a bit confusing and conflicting. We did part of the Dune trail (beautiful). Going inland, there was lots of brush and also a good amount of mosquitos and I believe that section can't have dogs per the sign we saw midway, so we took the road back up to the car.

As for the dog "frolicking on the beach," as mentioned by Dan, better option is to access the beach at Oysterville and go right (no cars) and they can run their hearts out on quiet days. Leash required but it seems that if the situation permits it, lots of happy dogs and local owners are enjoying their backyard socializing together.

All Leadbetter hikes are beautiful and a bird and wildlife lover's paradise. It also seems very quiet. It is a state park, clean restrooms on 2 sections of trail, nice signage and discover pass requires, can't buy on site. Better to leave the dog home and enjoy the wildlife and entire park.

There is also another small state park Pacific Pines which doesn't allow cars to go on the beach, but there is a short trail from the parking area to the beach. Dogs allowed.

Good thing I didn't check out WTA first or I might have been dissuaded from driving twenty miles up a dead-end road only to find the trails flooded. Actually, I wasn't even planning on a hike; just seeing how far the road went since I had never been all the way to the end before. Fortunately, the trails were all dry - but there were mobs of mosquitos that were more than happy to greet a new visitor. They forced a brisk walk, until I finally found some relief at the beach.

I didn't find anything near as exciting as a dead whale; just a bell pepper that looked very out-of-place. Oh, and elk tracks that came out of the dunes and down to the surf. Elk on the beach! That would have been fun to see. Lots and lots of sand-dollars and crab shells - unlike the picked over beaches around Long Beach. Nobody is going to drive twenty miles up here just to see more beach (especially if they have to hike to it), so it makes for a surprising bit of solitude. 

Just wanted to let you all know that the trails are now dry since the last report, so go for it. Just be prepared for swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitos that will stop at nothing in their never-ending quest to suck you dry.

(also, check out the old mansions on Territory Road in Oysterville)

Two friends enjoyed a beautiful hike on a  sunny Monday in May. After reading the warnings of submerged trails, we brought our Crocs and rolled up our pants on the Weather beach trail and waded thru mid-calf to knee deep in cold tannin-dark water for maybe a mile -- in and out of water. The trail really needs boardwalks as you hiking through extensive wetlands ( my hiking buddy thought the mosquitos were bad. I didn't) but it made for an adventure and a fabulously people-free beach. Bring poles for easier walking through the water. The beach was super windy. Sad to see the remains of a dead Grey Whale. Happy to see so many eagles and flock upon flock of snowy plovers. Hiked to the point and back, marveling that we could see Mt Rainier. Hiked back on the much drier BearBear trail ( but still needed our Crocs). The trail leads to a beautiful stretch of beach on the vast beauty of Willapa Bay. Loved our beach hike. Saw only two other people at the north end who appeared to be digging shellfish but we didn't recognize their tools. They had a rolling carrier and must have come by boat  from around the point. Extra tip: reserve a sauna cold plunge and soak at Snow Peak to end your day in style. Highly recommend the entire exploration of the north end of the Long Beach Peninsula