Beach 1 Trailhead

NPS/S. Sheltren

Quick Facts

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Trailhead

A trail through Sitka spruce trees, many of them with large, knobby burls, leads to this less-visited beach north of South Beach. The beach itself has countless massive drift-logs, weathered by their time at sea. Look for bald eagles nesting nearby!
 

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Full Accessibility Description

Beach 1

Length: 765 feet
Surface Type: Compacted gravel
Typical Trail Width: 2 feet
Typical Running Slope: Under 5% through forest, max 16% on descent to beach.
Typical Cross Slope: Under 3%
Elevation Gain/ Loss: 60 feet
Accessible Parking: Van-accessible parking immediately across from the trailhead
Description: There are parking pullouts on both the east and west side of the highway for Beach 1. If parking on the east side of the highway, exercise extreme caution when crossing the highway, as the speed limit is 55 mph and there is no crosswalk. The trail starts at the edge of the west-side pullout and proceeds into the forest. The Spruce Burl Trail starts at 115 feet, looping through the forest and tying back in with the Beach 1 Trail at 280 feet. The first 365 feet of the Beach 1 Trail runs through the forest at gentle grades under 5%. The initial portion of the descent to the beach consists of 53 stairs with deep treads, interspersed with cross drains. At 535 feet, the stairs end and the trail continues downhill at grades up to 16%. A wooden footbridge at the bottom of the hill leads down to 5 more stairs. The trail is cut into a bank for the final approach to the beach. The surface is rocky and fluctuates gently up and down to 715 feet. The trails continues over a cut in a beach log and proceed fifty feet further to a large accumulation of beach logs at 765 feet. Navigate through the logs to reach the beach.