Olympic Coast - Hoh River, La Push, Cape Alava

cover photo
Nov 26, 2015 - Nov 28, 2015

Thanksgiving exploring the Olmpic peninsula.

On the first day arrived at the Hoh river trailhead around noon and headed out with only 5 hours of daylight left. Hiked through the mossy Hoh rainforest. Reached a campsite on the river and setup camp close to it on a rocky bank. Temp dropped quickly after dark. Really felt the cold at night and toes got pretty frozen in the sleeping bag. By sunrise woke up to a layer of frost on everything. Headed to LaPush for some sunset beach views and a hot dinner. Decided to head back to Port Angeles to get a iphone charging cable replacement and some fire-making supplies. Spent the night enjoying a warm motel bed.

Next day headed out to Cape Alava trailhead and made the 3 mile hike along wooden walkway through underbrush to the coast. There were a few campsites taken up but easily found a good spot towards the northern end. Collected firewood and made a fire to keep warm into the evening. In the morning hiked south along the coast to the other campground at Sand Point and completed the loop along wooden walkways to the trailhead.

DifficultyClass 1
Distance~20 miles
Nights2
Highest Elevation100 ft
JurisdictionOlympic National Park
MapCustom Correct North Olympic Coast
TrailheadHoh River & Cape Alava Sand Point Loop