Adventures with Holly & Bryan

Video tour of Point of Arches and Shi Shi Beach trail

The sun dropped lower behind the Point of Arches, the light turning the ocean mist golden as waves hit the huge sea stacks. I yearned to wander among the innumerable tide pools that were surely tucked among those sea stacks. The tide was low. This was the time.

I hesitated. It was nearly sunset. The specter of the two-hour drive to our Port Angeles motel hovered in my subconscious. Our car was over four miles away, parked at the Shi Shi Beach trailhead. I wondered vaguely if our motel reservation would be canceled if we arrived after 10 pm, as surely we would.

“I’ll catch up,” I said to Bryan. “I just want to look at a few tide pools.”

Sea anemones and sea stars bloomed into view as I hastily hopped among the tide pools in the immense playground of sea stacks. It was unlike any place I’d been before.

Despite hiking regularly up and down the Washington and Oregon coast, I feel like a perpetual explorer, always amazed to encounter someplace new. That feeling hit home on the Shi Shi Beach trail to Point of Arches. It takes its place in my book as one of the best coastal hikes in the Pacific Northwest.

In today’s post, I’ll share the highlights of the Shi Shi Beach trail to Point of Arches and everything you need to know to visit this special place yourself.

Overview: The Shi Shi Beach Trail to Point of Arches

The Shi Shi Beach trail begins in coastal forest on Makah tribal land and ends on a long stretch of beach in Olympic National Park. The hike is 8.8 miles altogether. It’s an out-and-back route that first travels a couple miles through forest and then a couple more miles over a sandy beach to reach the final destination at the Point of Arches headland. Point of Arches takes the wild and rugged coastline to the next level. According to the Washington DNR, it has over 30 sea stacks!

The Shi Shi Beach trail isn’t particularly difficult, but the forest section is downhill on the way out. If you linger too long watching the sunset (as we did!), you’ll have an uphill hike out in the dark. I’ll admit that I had to actually run a good chunk of the return direction so we’d get back in time to check in at our motel…

Point of Arches is a place governed by tides, where fabulous creatures live in the tide pools, and the rugged rock formations can be explored at low tide. In the evenings, the sun setting behind the towering, silhouetted sea stacks is something I’ll never forget.

Mud on the Shi Shi Beach Trail

Boardwalks at the beginning of the Shi Shi Beach trail help avoid the notorious mud this hike is known for. However, in the second half of the forest section, the boardwalks give way to open trail, and the mud becomes front and center. Some of the reviews I’ve read have described mud that almost reaches the knees!

We went at the end of the dry season (September 8th), which helped a lot with the mud. I’d still call the trail muddy, but there were established routes around the mud that allowed us to fairly easily avoid any trouble. We both wore regular running shoes and didn’t need to hose them off afterward. If you’re concerned about mud, the end of summer is a good option for timing your hike.

Arriving at Shi Shi Beach

At the end of the forest section, the Shi Shi Beach trail descends via switchbacks to the beach. The hillside on the descent is thick with ferns. You might see older descriptions of the trail that mention descending to the beach using ropes, but luckily that isn’t necessary anymore. The trail descent is well developed now and isn’t technical. It is a bit steep and includes some stairs, so it may be difficult for those with knee injuries.

The trail emerges from the forest through this narrow passage in the tall grasses. It’s easy to see the trail on your way out, but it’s pretty well hidden on the way back! I’d recommend downloading the AllTrails map so you can follow along on your phone. My phone battery died after taking too many pictures, so we resorted to following footprints back to their source. Definitely not ideal!

Shi Shi Beach Section to Point of Arches

Once you reach Shi Shi Beach, turn left (south) to continue your hike along the sand toward the Point of Arches headland.

Almost immediately, you’ll come upon this series of bizarre and beautiful rock pools. There’s plenty of driftwood, rocks, and washed-up kelp to explore along the way as you head toward the Point of Arches.

Tides on the Shi Shi Beach Trail to Point of Arches

This is a hike where it’s critical to get the tides right. Aim to reach the Point of Arches (the midpoint of the hike) at low tide or in the hour before low tide, to give yourself more time to explore. Visiting at low tide enables exploring the bizarre and beautiful rock formations at the Point of Arches headland and seeing the creatures in the tide pools.

When we visited, low tide was an hour and a half before sunset, so the lighting was beautiful.

Since the tide was low, we were also able to walk around the Point of Arches headland to the mostly deserted and spectacular beach on the other side. It seemed the headland might only be passable at low tide, so take care with the tides so you don’t get trapped! Here are the tide tables so you can plan your trip.

Shi Shi Beach Trail Parking and Permits

The Shi Shi Beach trailhead is in the northwest corner of Washington, on Makah tribal land. It’s about 4 1/2 hours’ drive from Seattle and 6 hours’ drive from Portland.

The trailhead has restrooms and a small parking lot. You’ll need a Makah tribe recreational use permit to park there. In 2022, the permits were $20 and they’re good for a year. There are several places you can buy them in Neah Bay. We got ours at the Makah Cultural & Research Center Museum.

If you plan to camp, there are more permits and requirements. Check out this National Park Service page for Shi Shi Beach camping details.

Best Time to Hike the Shi Shi Beach Trail to Point of Arches

There are three timing factors to keep in mind for your hike on the Shi Shi Beach trail:

1. Time of Year: Summer is the best time of year for relatively warm and sunny weather, with late summer being optimal if you’d also like to minimize mud on the trail.

2. Sunset: Sunsets at Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches are spectacular. I’d recommend timing your hike to overlap with the golden hour or sunset if you can.

3. Low Tide: Because there are so many cool rocks and tide pools, I’d highly recommend timing your visit so you’ll reach Point of Arches at or before low tide. This rocky headland is where you’ll find the spectacular sea stacks and tide pools. Part of the area isn’t accessible at high tide.

We did the hike on a Thursday, and we encountered a dozen or so other groups on the beach, several of whom were camping. It seemed very peaceful for such a spectacular hike.

Other Adventures in the Pacific Northwest

Thanks for joining us on the Shi Shi Beach trail to Point of Arches! For more travel ideas in the Pacific Northwest, check out our PNW Trip Planner. You can find adventures near you and filter by season and difficulty level. There are weird and wonderful things to explore any time of year. The trip planner links to blog posts to help you plan your next adventure.

Happy exploring!