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If you’re looking for a bit of adventure, Shi Shi Beach can give it to you. This remote Pacific coast beach can be accessed via a two mile trail starting at the Makah Reservation and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Olympic National Park.
Permits
Before hiking to Shi Shi Beach (pronounced “shy shy”), you have to purchase a recreation permit from the Makah Reservation. This can be done at the Makah Museum, Washburn’s General Store, the mini-mart, and other businesses in Neah Bay. It costs US$20 (as of January 2024) and is good for the whole calendar year.
You can do Shi Shi Beach as a day hike, or continue along the beach all the way to the Ozette area or La Push, camping along the way. If you plan to camp, you’ll need a wilderness permit from Olympic National Park. You’ll also need a tide chart to avoid getting trapped by the tides.
Parking
The parking lot for the trail is a short drive from Neah Bay. There’s a toilet and garbage cans there and none along the trail, so be sure to take your garbage back out with you.
The Trail
The trail runs about two miles to the beach through the forest. It’s fairly flat along boardwalk and dirt. The first mile is relatively dry, but be prepared for deep mud on the second mile. We were covered in it up to our ankles when we returned to the car.
Near the end of the trail, you start to get glimpses of the Pacific Ocean. Finally, you reach the park boundary, indicated by a box with notices posted on it. One of them welcomes you to Olympic National Park.
From there, it’s a very steep and slippery path down to the beach. When we were there, National Park Service employees were busy building a stairway. It’ll be a huge help and much safer when it’s done.
Shi Shi Beach
At the bottom, there’s a path with moss-covered trees. From there, you can find an open space in the brush to access the beach.
We walked onto a completely empty Shi Shi Beach with ferocious waves pounding onto the shore and a strong wind blowing off the ocean. The ranger the day before told us to expect swells of up to 15 feet and to watch the tides.
We stayed a good 30 minutes on the beach to admire the scenery before heading back to the trail. The shore was lined with sea stacks and rocks belonging to the Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, a section of the Washington Islands Wilderness.
It would have been another 2 ½ miles south to Point of Arches, a mile long stretch of sea stacks and tide pools and a National Natural Landmark. With the wind and weather, we decided not to continue. Instead, we walked north along the beach until the tide started to swallow up the corner.
Unfortunately, we came across a sea lion that had washed up on the beach. The National Park Service asks visitors to report any large dead animal such as a whale or sea lion that they see on the beach.
Conclusion
It was a little over an hour back to the car, and we were happy to have hiked to Shi Shi Beach. It was as wild and as beautiful as we had imagined. Next time, we hope to be a bit more adventurous and hike down as far as we can, preferably all the way to La Push.
