Hiking Guide
WTA's hiking guide is the most comprehensive database of hikes in Washington, and comprises content written by local hiking experts and user submitted information. All data is vetted by WTA staff. This resource is made possible by the donations of WTA members.
We respectfully acknowledge the lands we are visiting are the homelands of Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest, some of whom have reserved rights on these lands. Tribes continue to rely on and share in the management of these lands today. Please tread gently and treat these places with respect.
Results List
57 HikesOlympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
3.3 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 286 feet
Highest Point: 71 feet
Rating:
Construction 3/20 through 4/10/23: No access to main parking lot and limited parking in a nearby lot (no overnight) M-Th. Limited parking from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in main parking lot F-Su. Restrooms will be closed.
The road to Rialto Beach and access to be the beach will be closed on 3/28/23.
Spend a day strolling the rugged Olympic Coast to dramatic sea stacks and natural wonders.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
1.2 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 230 feet
Highest Point: 706 feet
Rating:
Enjoy an easy 1.2-mile loop near the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center. Pair it with the Hall of Mosses for a couple of nice, flat exploratory leg-stretchers in the Hoh. Both make for an interesting introduction to the area, and will be a hit with the kids!
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
33.0 miles, roundtrip
Rating:
Beautiful multi-day hike that shows off the beauty of the Hoh Rainforest. Hike on relatively level ground until the last two miles, which climb to Elk Lake Campground, a good place to start a day hike to the glacier.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
0.1 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 0 feet
Highest Point: 25 feet
Rating:
This trail is a short one, just a few hundred feet from the parking area, but it takes you to one of the most easily-accessible, impressive giants of the west coast.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
2.9 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 300 feet
Highest Point: 400 feet
Rating:
Discover the true beauty of the Bogachiel Rain Forest on the Ira Spring Wetland trail. This short trail will take you on a loop through a fern forest and around a large wetland. While leashed dogs are allowed in on the Ira Wetland trail, they are NOT allowed in the Olympic National Park, the boundary of which is 1.6 miles along the Bogachiel Trail.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
2.9 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 250 feet
Highest Point: 50 feet
Rating:
The trail from Oil City starts out as a short forest jaunt along the Hoh River, and ends at the sandy shores of the Pacific Ocean.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
0.5 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 20 feet
Highest Point: 430 feet
Rating:
This 1.3 mile trail was a lovely, somewhat flat walk through the Olympic rainforest, cleared at least once by WTA crews. But years of deferred maintenance have rendered it impassable past the quarter-mile mark. Knee-deep salal and ferns prevent most progress from the main loop trail.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
7.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1,500 feet
Highest Point: 1,880 feet
Rating:
The Graves Creek primitive trail provides access to old growth forests high above the Quinault River Valley and solitude compared to the high use trails along the Quinault River. Expect glimpses of waterfalls across the gorge in spring and signs of wild-life including bear, deer, and elk.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
0.8 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 20 feet
Highest Point: 25 feet
Rating:
If the tide is high, or you just want to see a different side of the Olympic Peninsula while you're visiting the coast, cross Highway 101 from the Kalaloch campground and take a peek into the deep Olympic forest.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
8.2 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 3,500 feet
Highest Point: 4,510 feet
Rating:
This peak allows for unrivaled views of the Olympic Peninsula. Located on the southwest side of the park, views include the Pacific Ocean, Grays Harbor, Lake Quinault and the Quinault River, the Olympic rainforest and Mount Olympus.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
14.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 4,292 feet
Highest Point: 4,492 feet
Rating:
Start at 200 feet above sea level and climb to a lofty, scenic peak of 4492 feet on a long, switchbacking trail through stunning old growth forest. WTA has done a lot of work on this trail to improve it after a huge storm in 2007.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
30.0 miles, one-way
Gain: 200 feet
Highest Point: 200 feet
Rating:
Hike through and alongside coastal forest, rocky cliffs and the wild Pacific coast on a relatively well-maintained route.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
8.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 200 feet
Highest Point: 200 feet
Rating:
This stunning Olympic coastal hike is one of the more photographed places in Washington for good reason.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
7.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1,400 feet
Highest Point: 650 feet
Rating:
Take a short but very scenic hike starting from the Altair campground in Olympic National Park. Traverse along the edge of the Elwha River, recently free-flowing thanks to the removal of the Glines Canyon Dam.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
9.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 100 feet
Highest Point: 350 feet
Rating:
The Cape Alava Loop (Ozette Triangle) is two hikes in one: a forest stroll and a walk on the beach. Take the Cape Alava Trail out to the beach and back for a 6.2 mile hike, or continue south along the beach to connect up with the Sand Point Trail for a 9.4 mile loop.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
2.8 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 50 feet
Highest Point: 300 feet
Rating:
The Queets Campground Loop is a quintessential rainforest experience. At just under three miles, it provides visitors with a generous variety of nature. Giant spruce and hemlock rise above great galleries of fern and oxalis. The wind whispers the memories of abandoned homesteads in the grasses of shrinking meadows. Owls hoot and frogs croak the song of an ancient melody. One stands here often and wonders.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
22.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 600 feet
Highest Point: 800 feet
Rating:
The Queets River Trail is legendary for both its wild rainforest scenery and for the challenges it presents to the hiker. To begin, the trail can only be accessed after fording the glacier-born Queets River itself. Across the river, the trail is primitive and remote. Most hikers skip this trail either because of the ford or because it dead ends at 11 miles. But anglers and Olympiphiles hold a special place for this valley in their hearts.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
27.8 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 3,700 feet
Highest Point: 2,035 feet
Rating:
The East Fork Quinault River Trail is one of the most popular trails on the south portion of the park and hundreds of hikers visit Enchanted Valley to take in the tremendous views and see the famed chalet each year.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
37.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 3,700 feet
Highest Point: 4,300 feet
Rating:
Hike the Hoh River to the Blue Glacier through lush rainforest. Pass spectacular old-growth dripping with moss, nurse logs providing nourishment to full grown trees and end with a panorama including the the aptly named Blue Glacier and Mount Olympus. The bio-diversity on this hike is seldom seen on such an accessible backpacking trip. Just be sure to check in with the ranger station before overnighting -- while there are lots of campsites, it's a popular place, and you'll need to reserve in advance.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
1.5 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 200 feet
Highest Point: 250 feet
Rating:
The furthest northwest tip of the contiguous United State, Cape Flattery provides a dramatic backdrop to a surprisingly accessible hike. It's managed by the Makah Tribe, who provide permits for parking here in Neah Bay. As you drive through on the way to the trailhead, be sure to purchase yours -- they're good for the year, and you can also use it for Shi Shi Beach.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
17.0 miles, one-way
Gain: 2,000 feet
Highest Point: 350 feet
Rating:
Bring a tide table and a good book on this scenic traverse of the wild Olympic Coast. While much of your hike will be across sandy beaches, there are several places that will require you wait for the tide to go out. Along the way, plan to climb up steep headlands with cable ladders, ropes and your hands and knees. It's a challenge, but a good one.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
6.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 60 feet
Highest Point: 60 feet
Rating:
Ruby Beach offers several miles of beach exploration, with unique rock formations and swirling sun-bleached driftwood.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
4.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 310 feet
Highest Point: 220 feet
Rating:
Shorter than the hike to Third Beach, the access to Second Beach is also a little more interesting, thanks to the ups and downs and a set of switchbacked stairs leading down to a coastline dotted with seastacks and a hole in the mainland that wind whistles through eerily.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
4.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 25 feet
Highest Point: 25 feet
Rating:
Wild and mercurial, the Olympic Coast has a special appeal in the spring and fall. Grassy bluffs, cliffside caves and tidal pools are all to be found along this four-mile beach hike near the Kalaloch Campground. So shrug on your rain gear and enjoy the bird watching, sense of solitude and stunning seascapes.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
13.8 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 2,850 feet
Highest Point: 3,175 feet
Rating:
The Three Lakes Trail is a tour of some of Olympic's finest old growth forests, and is the traditional start of the much longer Queets-Quinault Skyline route. Starting in lowland rainforest, the trail works its way through exemplary stands of montane and then subalpine forests before finally breaking out into meadows dotted with tiny lakes. This is a truly wild and remote corner of the Olympics that leaves a lasting impression on the lucky hiker who experiences its beauty.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
3.6 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 280 feet
Highest Point: 280 feet
Rating:
The trail to Third Beach provides plenty of suspense for hikers. It’s a 1.3 mile trek through high trees, sometimes shrouded in fog, giving the forest here a spooky aura. But popping out onto the coast at the log-choked mouth of a creek and seeing the grand Pacific Ocean provides the perfect payoff.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
1.2 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 8 feet
Highest Point: 17 feet
Rating:
With 6,000 feet of shoreline and an ADA accessible trail, visitors can travel along the coast and keep an eye out for the numerous species that fill the air.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
2.6 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 184 feet
Highest Point: 106 feet
Rating:
Narnia provides a nice option to hike a short trail through the woods while at the beach. It is open for all trail purposes, so watch for bikes and horses. The trail is well maintained and easy to navigate.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
6.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 150 feet
Highest Point: 100 feet
Rating:
A beautiful hike through an interesting forest, often over boardwalks, ends at the beach with the potential for birdwatching and wildlife viewing. If you plan ahead and get a permit, it's a nice overnight destination.
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
6.2 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 100 feet
Highest Point: 350 feet
Rating:
Take a beautifully constructed boardwalk a little more than three miles out to the wild Olympic Coast. If you can snag a permit, camping here is divine. If not, while away a few hours playing in the water or ambling along the beach.