PNWSights

By Astrid · 7 places

7 Low-Traffic Corners of the Northwest

Low-traffic corners of a well-photographed region

The famous places earn their crowds. These do not draw them, which is its own argument. Every one is somewhere I have stood alone for an hour.

  1. Two backpackers walk across a wide, open stretch of Shi Shi Beach under a clear blue sky, with long shadows on the sand. Offshore, dark sea stacks and the Point of the Arches rise above a low band of surf and sea mist.
    1

    Forks

    Shi Shi Beach

    Four miles of muddy trail and two required permits filter out nearly everyone, leaving Point of the Arches to the few who commit. The tidepools under the arches are the richest I know.

  2. A wide panorama of Dungeness Spit stretches far into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with driftwood scattered along the narrow gravel bar and low green grasses in the foreground. Calm blue water borders both sides of the spit under a pale sky, with tiny figures walking in the distance.
    2

    Sequim

    Dungeness Spit

    Eleven miles round trip of sand to a lighthouse operating since 1857, with harbor seals and shorebirds for company. Few people walk the whole spit, which is precisely the appeal.

  3. A mossy rainforest creek winds through wet rocks and exposed roots, with a small silky cascade tucked under a fallen log in the background. Dense green ferns and bright foliage frame the scene, emphasizing the lush, shaded forest setting.
    3

    Quinault

    Merriman Falls

    A forty-foot falls over mossy rock, steps from a pullout on South Shore Road, and somehow almost nobody stops. I shoot it in flat overcast light with a polarizer.

  4. Two white curtains of water plunge over a moss-covered basalt wall into a narrow gorge, with a fallen tree leaning across the green rock between the falls. The long exposure softens the rushing water, while the damp, shaded canyon feels lush and enclosed.
    4

    Cascade Locks

    Elowah Falls

    A 213-foot plunge into a moss-walled basalt amphitheater while the Gorge crowds queue elsewhere. The deep shade calls for a tripod, which suits the pace of the place.

  5. A sandy footpath cuts between low, windblown dunes covered in tufts of beach grass, with a pale overcast sky filling the background. The scene feels quiet and minimal, with soft beige sand and green-gold vegetation framing the trail.
    5

    Florence

    Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

    Dunes up to five hundred feet, forty miles of them, and the Dellenback trail puts you in open sand where footprints vanish overnight. Low golden light rakes the ripples into pattern.

  6. A broad view of Kalaloch Beach shows a wide gray sand shoreline with a narrow stream cutting toward the surf, while white-capped waves roll in under a bright blue sky with towering clouds. Green coastal vegetation and driftwood frame the foreground at left.
    6

    Kalaloch

    Kalaloch Beach 4

    A minus tide exposes sculptural rock and tidepools of sea stars and anemones, and the short spruce-forest trail keeps traffic thin. I go for the intertidal detail work.

  7. Wide panorama of Cape Alava at golden hour, with a dark rocky beach in the foreground, tidewater reflecting a warm orange sky, and low forested islands silhouetted on the horizon. The calm, remote shoreline stretches across the frame beneath a glowing sunset band.
    7

    Forks

    Ozette Triangle (Cape Alava to Sand Point)

    Nine miles of boardwalk and wilderness beach to the westernmost point of the contiguous states, past Makah petroglyphs on the shore. The distance keeps it quiet in every season.

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