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North of the Quinault Indian Reservation, easy beachbreak access and public lands resume for 12 miles above Queets before Highway 101 juts inland, winding through hemlock, spruce and fir rain forests, concealing the shoreline. This is temperate rain forest country, dotted with enormous, 500-year-old trees in an environment where life is replenished faster than anywhere on Earth.
Aside from one public access featuring the sandbars of La Push, the stretch of coast from Ruby Beach to Neah Bay is generally no-man's-land to all but the Hoh, Quileute, Ozette and Makah tribes. Native Americans outnumber whites in these areas, and one may be inclined to say mediocre surf spots outnumber the good ones as well, though minimal surf exploration has been accomplished due to issues of access. In the far north are the grand Olympic National Park, the Olympic National Wildlife Refuge and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Ocean winds here, rinsed by their lengthy runs across the sea and by the rainfall, contain some of the world's purest air. This is a landscape which American writer William Richards deemed a "living catalog of natural superlatives."
Located within Olympic National Park, La Push, the 800-year-old reservation of the Quileute tribe, is home to some decent but fickle beachbreak. The crescent of First Beach is the main spot, offering schizophrenic sandbars with a steep beach drop-off, framed to the north and south by some impressive seastacks. Basically only ridable during summer and early autumn, La Push is an average beachbreak that has some good days and a lot of bad days. It's a beautiful spot, however, and the 14-mile jaunt off of Highway 101 is well worth it, even if the surf sucks. The westward road from Forks is lined with ugly clear-cuts, and the Indian village at La Push ain't exactly a quaint little tourist town, but it's a welcome change if your homebreak is Trestles.
Above La Push, apart from the craggy rock pile of Tatoosh Island, the Olympic Peninsula's Cape Flattery is the northwesternmost point of land in the contiguous United States. From here, Washington's coast abruptly angles nearly a hundred miles east-southeastward to Port Townsend, lining the broad, blue-green Strait of Juan de Fuca. Here lies a north-northeast-facing surf reality a world away from the aforementioned exposed coast. Maddeningly fickle and working only during large northwest swells are a handful of quality breaks, but unless you live there, your odds of scoring are virtually nil.
-- Mike Kew
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medium
SW
Waist- to head-high
NE
3
sand
intermediate and up
anything to ride, 5/4/3mm hooded fullsuit with booties and gloves
summer
At the north end of Forks, exit Highway 101 onto Highway 110, aka La Push Road, and take it to the end (14 miles).
maybe a couple of guys, but no problem
mellow
3 to 4
1
5
Isolation and loneliness.
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Definitely no nightlife here and not many food options. Actually, the only place you can get something to eat is at the Lonesome Creek Store, and what you'll scrounge there won't amount to what we'd call a well-balanced meal. Head back into Forks instead.
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La Push offers three lodging options, all reachable through La Push Resorts at 360-374-5267 or 800-487-1267. They've got the Thunderbird Motel (one-bedroom kitchenettes), the Whale Motel (one-room, two-bed with kitchens) and several Camper Cabins, ranging from rustic to deluxe (some have no hot water -- the deluxe ones do, however, and that's why they're deluxe). Rates for everything range from $63-$175 during the peak summer season. RVers can park their rigs at the Lonesome Creek RV Park, right behind the store, and you can pitch a tent here, too. You can also camp at the federal Mora Campground (360-374-5460), a unit of Olympic National Park, off of Rialto Beach Road on the other side of the river from La Push.
Or try
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If you've got a boat, feel free to moor it in the Quileute Marina (360-3745392). Other than La Push's limited offerings, everything you need can be found in Forks, the valley down directly east of La Push. The Forks Chamber of Commerce has lots of info on the area: 360-374-2531 or 800-44FORKS.
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