Browns Point -Kalaloch–Kid and dog friendly hike on the wild Olympic Coast
Location: Olympic National Park coast
Land Agency: National Park Service
Roundtrip: 4.0 miles
Elevation gain: 50 feet
Contact: Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center
Green Trails Map: Olympic Coast 99S
Recommended Resource: Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula 2ed (Mountaineers Books)
Notes: Dogs must be leashed; Browns Point can only be rounded during low tides; Practice Leave No Trace Principles
Good to Know: kid-friendly, dog-friendly, snow free winter hike; beach walking; exceptional wildlife viewing
Access: From Hoquiam, follow US 101 north for 70 miles to Kalaloch. (From Forks travel 34 miles south on US 101). Turn left into Kalaloch Campground and park in picnic day use area.
The wide sandy beaches of Kalaloch make for the perfect introduction to the wild Olympic Coast. Although the highway is never far, towering bluffs, and hidden coves give this area a feeling of remoteness. Perfect for children and dogs too (they are allowed on these beaches but they must be leashed), you can spend days exploring this area’s extensive tide pools and headlands. The hike to Browns Point, a jumbled collection of rock islands and surf-splashed cliffs, makes a fine half day objective.
From the picnic area bluff descend 25 feet, hopping over a tangled pile of drift logs to reach the beach. Now head north on a wide and smooth expanse of sandy shoreline. On clear days you can see all the way to Hoh Head on the northern horizon. Destruction Island, a sixty-acre barren outpost over three miles from shore can also be seen when the skies are clear. Uninhabited, it’s one the Pacific Coast’s most important seabird colonies.
In one mile, high grassy bluffs rising to your right create a feeling of remoteness. In 1.6 miles a series of ledges and cliffs encroaches upon the surf. If the tide is high, this is as far as you can safely go. Turn around and enjoy the beaches south of the Kalaloch Campground. But if the tide is low, work your way, over, around and even through (there’s a small arch, look for it) the rocks and ledges making up Browns Point. Explore tidal pools and cliffside caves. Admire orange and purple starfishes tightly cemented to barnacle-clad rocks. Peer down at spongy urchins and other sea critters in nature’s little saltwater baths. But remember, the intertidal zone is a fragile ecosystem. Please don’t remove or disturb its inhabitants. That’s the job for raucous oystercatchers in search of tasty morsels.
For more information (including maps and trip planning) on this hike and other Olympic Coast hikes, consult my best-selling Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula 2nd ed and Backpacking Washington books (Mountaineers Books).
For more information on things to do and places to stay and eat along the Washington Coast consult Northwest TripFinder.
Be sure to pick up Green Trails Map 99S for all of your explorations on the Olympic Coast!
