Willapa National Wildlife Refuge - Leadbetter Point — Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025

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.