Oil City

The trail from Oil City starts out as a short forest jaunt along the Hoh River, and ends at the sandy shores of the Pacific Ocean.

The forested potion is flat and shaded with wonderful views across the Hoh, and some sneak peeks of ocean waves. Once you break through the trees, you'll need to cross over a thick pile of driftwood before you reach the beach. The beach here is sandy, though as you meander north, you'll be met with larger and larger rocks.

Eventually, you'll reach a point where the rocks become boulders and the headlands jut out closer to the sea, which serves as a great turnaround point for day hikers. If you want to explore north of these boulders, you'll need to pack along a tide chart and time your hike correctly as this area becomes inaccessible during high tide.

This trail is also a segment of the longer South Coast Wilderness Trail (or the even longer Pacific Northwest Trail) — just make sure you snag an overnight permit beforehand if you want to camp.