Toleak Point Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Third Beach Trailhead
- End point: Toleak Point
- Trail log: Trail Log
- Distance: 12.8 miles round trip
- Elevation gain: 1080 feet
- High point: 275 feet
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Seasons: Year round
- Family Friendly: Yes, as far as Third Beach
- Backpackable: Yes
- Crowded: Yes, as far as Third Beach
Contents |
Hike Description
At Toleak Point in Olympic National Park, there is a section of beach almost three miles long that can be walked at any tide. You're far enough away from any trailhead that there aren't too many people. During summer weekends, it may get pretty busy. North of Toleak Point, there is a half mile stretch with a number of campsites in the trees right off the beach. While a beach hike with little elevation gain sounds easy, you will in fact need to leave the beach by scrambling up unstable ladders to ascend headlands on trails that can become a quagmire if they are wet.
You need to get permits for hiking everywhere: the National Park seven-day pass, the camping fee, and the nightly per person camping fee. You also need a hard sided container (for example, a bear canister) if you're camping. This is to prevent raccoon and bear problems.
See the La Push tide table for the best times to walk the beaches.
Detailed Description
The Toleak Point Hike starts at the Third Beach Trailhead. There is one trail, well signed, to Third Beach and Toleak Point. The trail to Third Beach is a pretty easy gravel trail, but a little muddy in places. It's 1.3 miles to the beach. You lose about 275 feet elevation, most of which is in the last 0.2 miles. The last little section, where you descend to the beach, is a little difficult, and you will have to cross huge driftwood logs.
Third Beach (the third beach from La Push) is about one mile of sandy beach. This would make an easy day hike. There are often quite a few people here. The crowds thin out beyond. There's a stream for drinking water and a couple places to camp right where the trail meets the beach.
The drinking water streams have a lot of tannin - a brownish color from decayed leaves. The water is safe to drink, even with the brownish color, but there's a bit of an off taste. Water filters don't remove the color or taste but are advised to make the water safe to drink.
There are two trails that go around heads between Third Beach and Toleak Point. At mile 1.7 (from the trailhead) is the north end of the Taylor Trail. At mile 2.9 is the south end. At mile 3.4 is the north end of the Scott Trail. At mile 3.7 is the south end. Getting off the beach is difficult. There are "ladders" with steel cables and wooden rungs as well as fixed ropes and conventional box steps. Once you get off the beach, there are numerous muddy stretches. After a lot of rain, these trails are very slippery and mucky. Third Beach and the beach between the Taylor and Scott trails are each wide enough to pass even on a high tide.
At the south end of the Scott Trail, at mile 3.7, is a camping area and Scott Creek (drinking water). There is a pit toilet just off the trail, before the trail reaches the beach. There's also a campsite next to it. There's another campsite on the other side of Scott Creek. A while ago, there were more campsites, but they were washed away by the ocean. You can camp on the beach, but there's a risk that a large wave could wash over you.
Continuing south on the beach past Scott Creek, from mile 3.7 to 4.2 is a rocky stretch that can best be passed in the three hours either way from low tide (i.e. half the time). Right at mile 3.7 is a spot where at high tide, you would have to go waist deep to get around it, but there's a bypass trail that isn't too bad that avoids it. Just look around for an obvious trail, but it's not marked. The next 0.5 miles is difficult at high tide. There isn't much beach, and there are downed trees to scramble over. This stretch is much easier within three hours of low tide.
At mile 4.9 is Strawberry Point. There are camping spots around, but no toilet and probably no drinking water. Between Taylor Point and Strawberry Point, you'll see an array of scenic sea stacks offshore, some of them hosting a few hardy spruce trees. This is the Giants Graveyard, which is part of the Quillayute National Wildlife Refuge and the Washington Islands Wilderness.
At mile 6.4 is Toleak Point, the end point of this hike. In the half mile before Toleak Point are a number of campsites in the trees, just off the beach. There is a pit toilet 0.2 miles north of Toleak Point. There is a drinking water stream 0.2 miles south of Toleak Point. Just before the stream, a trail goes up to a "shelter", to be used only in an emergency. It's pretty dilapidated, but would offer some protection in bad weather.
You can go another mile south on the beach to the Goodman Trail, which takes you inland over Goodman Creek. From Goodman Creek, it's about 7 1/2 miles, passing over Hoh Head, to the trailhead at Oil City and the mouth of the Hoh River.
Alternate Trailhead
An alternate trailhead is to drive 0.9 miles past the Bogachiel River, turn left on unmarked gravel road, and proceed 1.5 miles to its end. This goes through Washington Department of Natural Resources land. There may be some logging going on, so watch out for log trucks. The road isn't too bad for a gravel road.
Then there's a trail 1.7 miles to the Scott Trail around Scotts Bluff. This trail isn't as bad as the north end of the Taylor Trail and the north end of the Scott Trail. See the first map to the right for a sketch of this route.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Green Trails Maps: Olympic Coast Beaches, WA #99S
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service & National Park Service: Olympic National Forest - Olympic National Park
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Olympic National Park
- Hike 734: Day Hikes of Olympic National Park Map Guide
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Vault toilet, information kiosk at trailhead
- There is a $30 National Park fee (for 7 days); America the Beautiful Pass also valid
- There is an $8 per night camping fee plus a $6 permit fee (see Wilderness Backpacking Reservations)
- Dogs are not allowed here, sorry.
- Check tide tables before the trip
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Toleak Point Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Toleak Point Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
Some guidebooks describe as far as Third Beach only:
- 100 Classic Hikes: Washington by Craig Romano
- Backpacking Washington by Craig Romano
- 100 Classic Hikes in Washington by Ira Spring & Harvey Manning
- 102 Hikes in the Alpine Lakes, South Cascades and Olympics by Ira Spring & Harvey Manning
- Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula by Craig Romano
- Day Hike! Olympic Peninsula by Seabury Blair, Jr.
- Best Hikes With Kids: Western Washington by Susan Elderkin
- Best Hikes With Kids: Western Washington & the Cascades by Joan Burton
- Best Short Hikes in Washington’s South Cascades & Olympics by E.M. Sterling & Ira Spring
More Links
- South Coast Route - Olympic Wilderness (Olympic National Park)
- Third Beach to Toleak Point (ProTrails)
- Backpacking Third Beach to Toleak Point (OutTraverse)
- How to Hike and Camp at Toleak Point in Olympic National Park (Happiest Outdoors)
- Backpacking Toleak Point and The Olympic South Coast Wilderness Trail (the zilcsaks)
- Backpack from Third Beach Trailhead to Toleak Point (Sonja Saxe)
- Backpacking Third Beach to Toleak Point (Grey Otter Adventures)
- Toleak Point (Outdoor Project)
- Third Beach to Toleak Point (Hiking Project)
- South Coast Wilderness Trail - Toleak Point (Washington Trails Association)
- Third Beach to Oil City (WillhiteWeb)
More Information
- Port Angeles Visitor Center (360) 565-3100
- Forks Visitor Center (360) 374-7566