Planning an Olympic Coast backpacking adventure?! YAY! When I was planning mine, it was SO HARD to find good information! So this post is for YOU and anyone else who needs help with planning an EPIC BACKPACKING ADVENTURE on the Olympic Coast! (North or South) 
STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR PLANNING A BACKPACKING TRIP ON THE OLYMPIC COAST
Where is are the Olympic Coast Trails?
The north west end of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state
Olympic North Coast Trail
- Runs from Rialto beach in the south (near La Push, WA) to Cape Alava in the north (the western most point of the contiguous US!)
- 20.1 miles via Sand Point (17.1 beach miles + 3 mile boardwalk trail)
- 23.5 miles via Cape Alava (20.2 beach miles + 3.3 mile boardwalk trail)
- The north access point is Ozette. Cape Alava, Sand Point and Ozette form the Ozette triangle
- The Olympic North Coast is also the tail end of The Pacific Northwest Trail (long distance trail from the Continental Divide to the Olympic Coast!)
Olympic South Coast Trail
- Runs from Third Beach (just south of Rialto Beach) down to Oil City in the south
- 16.5 miles
What about transportation / shuttle options?
Transportation is a key concern for these point to point hikes … unless you’re crazy enough to do an out and back!
- Parking a vehicle is free at the trailheads (with your backpacking permit)
- Rialto Beach to Ozette Ranger Station really IS a 1.5 hour drive (one way) btwn them
- Third Beach to Oil City really IS a 1 hour drive (one way) btwn them
- Hiring a shuttle service is possible in the summer
- Prices were like ~$75 when I looked into it
- Bring your own ride support
- There are lots of camping options for your support crew!
- Mora Campground is near Rialto Beach and has many sites
- Ozette campground is near the Ozette Ranger Station with abt a dozen sites
- There are lots of camping options for your support crew!
Are permits required?
Yes – Wilderness Camping Permits are required on all Olympic Wilderness Coast hikes year round. See here –> Olympic National Park – Hiking Wilderness Coast
- In 2020, cost was $8 per person per night
- Parking is included with the permit (you’ll need to provide vehicle(s) info)
- Permits are based on the campsites you reserve each night. So you’ll need to have your itinerary figured out when you apply. NOTE: These are not typical “campsites”, just beach or clearings just in treeline
- Some camp sites have lots of availability (Hole in the Wall or Sand Point)
- Some only a few (Yellow Banks has 12).
Facilities
- Rialto and Ozette both have bathroom facilities
- Chilean & Norwegian Memorials both have pit toilets, although we could never find them
- Cedar Creek TBD
What topo map do I need for planning my Olympic Coast backpacking trip?
One of the hardest things about planning my Olympic Coast backpacking trip on the North Coast trail was getting a map that showed me what I needed to know!
- I actually have 3 maps … but my favorite by far is the Custom Correct – North Olympic Coast map
- It’s the only one that shows
1) tide height of each low tide spot and
2) mileage marked as distances between low tide spots - This makes planning your trip SO MUCH easier!
- Olympic National Park Trails Illustrated map by National Geographic
- 1 : 100,000 (7.5 min)
- Nice, waterproof map, but it lacks accurate low tide information.
- Olympic Coast Beaches map by Green Trails
- 1 : 62,500 (15 min)
- Nice map, but it’s missing detailed mileage between low tide spots
- North Olympic Coast map by Custom Correct Maps
- 1 : 62,500 (15 min)
- This map had everything I needed for planning my Olympic Coast backpacking trip!
Is there cell service?
No
- None of our group had any service except at Rialto beach. The rest of the way? Crickets. This includes Ozette. But GPS worked to pinpoint us on the map when we needed to remind ourselves we weren’t lost!
Headlands, Low tide spots & Overland trails
Headlands are the large rock formations that jut out into the ocean. They are significant on a beach hike because
- Often difficult to get around with really slow travel
- Extremely dangerous when the tides come back in. You can’t see how bad or how long a headland will be until you’re rounding it … and the ocean waits for no-one!
- Some headlands (marked *DANGER* on the map) are never ok to round no matter what the tide
Low tide spots (marked *CAUTION* on the map) are covered by the ocean for part of the day.
- They are only passable for a window before and after the lowest tide.
- That window depends on the ‘height of the tide’ compared to the ‘height of the spot’.
- Example: Cape Johnson headland, is a ‘4 ft low tide spot’, which means it’s passable when the tide is BELOW 4 feet.
- The lower a spot’s tide height the shorter the window of time available to cross it.
- IN GENERAL, the two hours before and after low tide are fine to cross all the low tide spots on the Olympic North Coast
Most low tide spots have overland trails that allow you to climb up and over instead of going around.
- Marked by big, round red/black markers high up on trees
- These trails are steep, but most have anchored ropes to help climb and descend.
- The ropes we encountered were strong and in good condition, but sometimes muddy and prickly-painful on the hands (consider wearing gloves!)
- If you miss the low-tide window and there’s no overland trail available, find a nice place to hole up (anywhere above the high tide line) and wait it out till you can get safely past. Or find a nice beach and play barefoot in the surf!
How to read a Tide chart
I read everything I could on “How to read a tide chart” before my trip, but I STILL learned more the first day on my trail then all my reading combined. Here’s what you need to know to successfully navigate the tides:
- The best tide chart is the one the WIC (Wilderness Information Center) will send you in email 3-5 days before your trip (see snippets below).
- I carried a copy on my phone and a printed copy in a ziploc on my trip
- The Destruction Island tide chart show the tides and times for Rialto Beach
- The ranger at the WIC said to expect the tides to slowly lag as you travel north
- The estimate was that Ozette area would lag the chart by like 15 minutes.
- This lag really didn’t make that much difference out on the trail. You don’t really need to worry about it.
Reading the chart:
- The highest points of the blue = high tide. The low points = low tide. Each happen twice a day.
- Each high and low tide have the expected time and tide height.
- For Example: (in the picture above)
- Thurs Oct 1st, evening low tide was at 7:15PM at 0.9 ft
- The dashed vertical lines represent 6AM and 6PM
- The solid vertical lines are Noon and Midnight (see the 6 – n – 6 across the top)
- The numbers all the way to the far left represent height in feet. Draw lines to roughly connect tide height with estimated time.
Don’t forget Sunset!
One of the most important pieces of information, and one I totally spaced when planning this trip(!) was SR (sunrise) and SS (sunset) times.
- It’s possible to travel before sunrise or after sunset, but neither is advisable or fun!
- Just try to keep your hiking window during daylight hours and have a good headlamp if you need to find camp in the dark!
- For Example: Thurs Oct 1st SS was 6:56PM, and yes it was dark within 20-30 minutes after that!)
PLANNING FOR WATER
BACKPACKING THE OLYMPIC COAST
How to plan for weather on the coast?
- I used weather.com and watched
- For North Coast Trail: Rialto Beach & Ozette Island
- For South Coast Trail: TBD
- Just be aware it will change quickly. The expected weather report at the start of the week was quite different from the actual weather when we got there!
How to plan for carrying water?
There are plenty of fresh water sources, if there’s been recent rain.
- In Oct 2020, we went just following a week of good rain. There were plenty of stream run-off water sources, but we didn’t reach them until mid-morning Day 2.
- We didn’t carry enough from the start and were almost completely dry before we found our first refill spot.
- Always filter your water. Some water sources were crystal clear while other had red orange foam forming on top. The water was legit though … just high iron content … and it tasted GREAT! Some of the best of the trip!
Next Steps …
Olympic Coast camping & campsites
Read my Adventure Backpacking the Ozette Triangle!
PLANNING GEAR
BACKPACKING THE OLYMPIC COAST
What to bring?
Here’s a link to my packing list for a 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip on the “Beach”.
- Yes, I carried rain gear, luckily I didn’t need it!
- I carried extra clothes, luckily … because I did need those! (I picked the wrong log to stop for a break!)
- I guess the take-away is … plan to get wet regardless of the weather!!
What shoes to wear backpacking the Olympic Coast?
I thought about trying this ‘beach’ hike in sandals, but I’m SO glad I didn’t!
- The few beaches that would have been good in sandals, were enjoyed barefoot!
- The others were deep sand, deep pebbles or covered in thick, yucky kelp piles. (All would be crazy in sandals!) And the rocky places? I was super glad for really stiff, thick-soled hiking boots! Saved my feet!
- Check out some short 10-20 sec ‘feet videos’ showing some of the slog up Kayostla beach.
Are Bear Canisters required/needed?
Yes! Bear Canisters are required when backpacking anywhere along the Olympic Coast.
- We used them for our non-food items during the day and then all our food and smelly items at night
- We did meet a bear just after rounding Cape Johnson and had to follow him up the beach for awhile
- We also found mama and baby (!!) bear prints at the tail end of Kayostla into Yellow banks. Just the prints though. Very glad we had the canisters for night!
I checked out the Bear Canisters for free at the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles
- We brought 2 canisters for 3 people for 2 nights … it was a tight fit the first night (eating extra food so we could fit all the rest in … including liquids and smelly stuff!!) But we made it work!
- I estimated them to weigh about 2.5 lbs each (empty).
FINAL TIPS PLANNING YOUR OLYMPIC COAST BACKPACKING TRIP
What is it actually like to hike the “beach”?
