Getting There from Sequim

3:45 p.m.
We were staying in Sequim (pronounced squim) for the night, and decided to drive up toward the Dungeness Recreation Area and the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, both north of town. We drove west on Highway 101 to Kitchen-Dick Road, and headed north. The route is well marked by appropriate signs.

Trailhead

There are several very large parking areas, so we assume that on weekends or very nice days the area is heavily used. There are several chemical toilets available near the trailhead to the spit. At the trailhead there is a large kiosk with pertinent information about the Refuge, and a pay station. The normal cost is $3.00 per person per day, but we have the Golden Eagle Passport and were able to get in for free. We did have to fill out a small form though, with our passport number.

There was also a docent near the trailhead who gave us some brief information of the spit, explained the rules, and sent us on our happy way. The trail is wide and passes under a canopy of dense trees. Along the way we had to watch our step because of the brown newts crawling about the trail. The blend in very well, and are slow movers.

Trail

The trail to the shore is fairly flat, and just before it drops down the cliff face to join the spit there is a large wooden observation deck, with great views of the spit and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Dungeness Harbor. From there the trail drops down steeply, and through the trees you can get excellent views of the spit and the surrounding waters.

Walk Along the Spit

Down on the beach you can walk left along the cliffs, or turn right and walk along the spit toward the New Dungeness Lighthouse National Historic Site. That point is 5 miles from the parking lot. Because of the lateness of the day, we decided to walk out for only a short ways along the spit. Again, like several of the other beaches we visited on this trip, there is little sand and a lot of water washed rock and debris. There are large logs pushed up near the high point of the spit, and there was more of that sea weed salad that we'd experienced near the shore on our Ozette Lake hike. And again, there were several types of sea gulls, heron, and a small flock of sand pipers that kept flying ahead of us so that we couldn't get a good view of them.

The sky was gray, but it wasn't raining for a change. But there was a cold breeze and it got stronger and colder as our hike went along.

There were a few other people out on the spit, but it was not crowded. Everyone seemed to be into their own thing. There was one group that had a large kite spinning about in the wind that looked like a lot of fun.

For the first half-mile of the spit we could walk anywhere, but after that we were restricted to the west shore. Apparently they have reserved the eastern shore, along Dungeness Harbor, as a nesting ground and sanctuary for the critters. We ended up walking about 2.5 miles round trip. Back on the mainland we drove through the campground and into a couple of observation points. Along in there we spotted a small bevy of unusual looking quail.

Drive Back to Sequim

On the way back to Sequim we took the Lotzgesell Road which took us past a private wildlife ranch that had some strange bovines that looked to be a cross between a domestic cow, a bison, and a water buffalo. There seemed to be an observation deck within the area, but the place was closed. We drove back through Old Town and Dungeness and made our way back to Sequim.