Explore Rialto Beach and the Incredible Hole-in-the-Wall on the Olympic Coast

Published May 9, 2021

Since we’ve lived in the PNW, we’ve always wanted to camp on the beach. There’s just something alluring about having a fire in the sand as you watch the sun dip below the horizon, then falling asleep to the sound of waves just outside your tent. With all of the big, mountainous hikes still under snow in spring, we figured this would be a good time to head out to the coast and try backpacking to Hole-in-the-Wall from Rialto Beach. Spoiler: things didn’t go exactly to plan, but we still had an amazing time, and that’s why we’re here to share our tips and lessons-learned with you!

Where to stay when visiting Hole-in-the-Wall

You have a few options for where to stay during your visit to Hole-in-the-Wall depending on your interests and the weather forecast.

Backpack to Hole-in-the-Wall and Camp on Rialto Beach
First things first, you will need to obtain a permit if you’d like to camp on Rialto Beach. This can be obtained by going to this page, selecting your date, number of people, and “overnight” for “permit type.” We visited on a Saturday and there were plenty of available permits just a few weeks in advance, but consider that this was still very early in the season (April).

Tip: You will need to know the number of cars your group will be bringing, plus the license plate numbers, and make/model when registering. Ask for this info in advance to avoid scrambling when you’re logged into the system and trying to book.

About 1.5 miles into the hike, you’ll cross Ellen’s Creek (more on this below). The campsites for backpackers begin after this point. You’ll want to camp as close to the tree line as possible, staying far above the high tide line! Also note that bear canisters are required for this location. You can learn more about what this means and where you could rent one on this page.

So I mentioned earlier that things didn’t go exactly to plan on this trip. Our plan A was to backpack to Hole-in-the-Wall and camp on the beach. The forecast was looking sunny and we thought we had totally lucked out . . . aside from the wind. The forecast was calling for 25+ mph wind and we were starting to question our decision the day before. We called the Olympic National Park Ranger Station, and they suggested that we may want to reconsider our plans if the wind was above 30 mph. Taking this into account and knowing that we wanted to be able to enjoy a fire and not be totally miserable . . . we started to formulate a plan B. Which brings us to your next option, which is to camp at the nearby Mora Campground.

Stay at the Nearby Mora Campground
If you don’t want to backpack or the weather isn’t cooperating, then staying at Mora Campground is another great option! Since it’s located just 2 miles down the road from Rialto Beach, it’s easy to hike and explore as long as you wish and still have plenty of time to enjoy around the campfire. There are 94 campsites, and reservations are required from May 26-September 15, 2021. Reservations can be made online 6 months in advance, and the cost is $24 per night. During the rest of the year, it is on a first-come, first-served basis. During winter (November – April), some campground loops are closed, but camping is still available. The ocean ended up being so loud during our visit that we could still hear it at night from our tents!

Back-Up Camping Options
If Mora Campground is full when you want to visit, you could also look into these options a bit further away:

Salt Creek Campground and Recreation Area

1 hour, 27 min from Rialto Beach
92 campsites
Half reserverable, other half are first-come, first-served
A beautiful area worth exploring on its own. We recommend sunset at Tongue Point and doing the Striped Peak hike.

Kalaloch Campground

1 hour from Rialto Beach
168 campsites
Reservations required May 26-September 15, 2021, rest of year is first-come, first-served.

Willaby Campground

1 hour, 30 min from Rialto Beach
21 campsites
Reservations required and available on a 6-month rolling basis.

Falls Creek Campground

1 hour, 40 min from Rialto Beach
31 campsites
Half reservable, half first-come, first-served.

Stay at a Cabin, Hotel, or Airbnb in the Nearby Town of Forks
If neither camping nor backpacking are your jam, then you could opt to stay in the nearby town of Forks (made famous by the Twilight movies!). We have stayed at Three Rivers Resort previously. While it’s nothing fancy, and I wouldn’t really think of it as a “resort” in the traditional sense, it worked out great for us and the price was right! It’s also convenient having a store and restaurant right on site and the service was always really friendly. We stayed in a cabin, but they also have a campground there as well.

We’ve also been curious about Manitou Lodge, which looks like a pretty nice option just 3 miles from Rialto Beach and offers lodge rooms, cottage rooms, as well as cabins and tent sites. I think we’ll have to check this out next time and can report back!

There are a few other motels and inns in Forks as well that you could check out if none of the above options are available.

How to get there

Rialto Beach is roughly 4 hours from Seattle, and you have two options for getting there:

Ferry
You can take the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island (or the Edmonds-Kingston ferry if coming from further north like us). You will drive your car onto the ferry and then disembark and continue your drive from there. The Seattle to Bainbridge route will cost about $16 for your car + driver, plus an additional $9 for each other adult passenger. You can learn more about both of these routes here.

Tip: These routes do not allow you to make advance reservations, and can get really busy on nice weekends, and especially during the summer. Our preferred method is to take the ferry on the way to the Olympic Peninsula, getting a really early start before things get too backed up. On the way home, driving is probably the more dependable option, because you could very likely show up to the ferry terminal on a Sunday night and find an extremely long line that requires you to wait for several boats to come and go before you get to board.

Tip: If you’re taking the ferry from Kingston to Edmonds, beware that Google Maps may try to reroute you on back roads around the ferry traffic. DO NOT follow this suggestion! On busy travel days, there is a new system in place where you need to get a ticket from a police officer at the very back of the ferry line, which you will miss if you take this alternate route, forcing you to get out of line and go back to the very beginning (we learned this the hard way!).

Drive
As mentioned above, you do have the option to drive the entire way rather than taking a boat. This route will take you south from through Tacoma. If you opt to take the ferry on the way there and drive on the way back, you will essentially be completing a giant loop, which can be great for having lots of site-seeing options along the way! (See below for recommendations)

Our last bit of advice is to try to arrive at Rialto Beach early if you can. The parking lot is pretty small, and the overflow parking is reserved for only backpackers with permits. Worst case, you could circle around and wait for someone to leave, but that’s never fun if you can avoid it!

Checking the weather and tide tables

A very important aspect to planning this trip is having a good understanding of the weather and tides. It may seem a bit foreign or unnerving at first, but don’t let the tide thing scare you! It’s actually quite easy to look up and you should carry the tide table with you for easy reference during your trip.

You can simply Google the name of the beach you’re visiting + “tide table,” and you’ll find resources such as this one for Rialto Beach. Take note of when the tide is at its lowest point, and that’s when you’ll want to get to Hole-in-the-Wall. Since the hike to get there is about 2 miles, you could start your hike 40’ish minutes before the low tide time. Note that you will not be able to explore Hole-in-the-Wall unless you visit at low tide, so it’s important you plan your trip around the tide table.

Even when visiting at low tide, you should always stay alert and know that there can be “sneaker” waves that come up further than the standard waves. Keep your eye on the water and be prepared to move quickly if needed!

About the hike to Hole-in-the-Wall

At a Glance:

4 miles roundtrip
50-75’ of elevation gain if you climb up to the lookout point above Hole-in-the-Wall
Dogs allowed on leash during the day only, not past Ellen’s Creek or overnight
Make sure you have a permit and bear canister if planning to camp on the beach
Hole-in-the-Wall must be visited at low tide
You will need a National Parks Pass to park at Rialto Beach. More info on that here.

The hike to Hole-in-the-Wall starts out from the Rialto Beach parking area. It’s a flat walk on the beach the entire way, so very easy aside from the factor of walking in sand/pebbles. The only minor challenge we encountered was crossing Ellen’s Creek, where you had two options: walk across a pretty big log or do your best to jump across the creek, knowing you’ll likely get your feet wet. I chose the log on the way there, and the creek jump/splash on the way back.

As mentioned above, be sure to arrive to Hole-in-the-Wall around low tide. It’s such a magical place to explore with huge sea stacks, cool rock formations, and lots of little tide pools filled with sea life to observe.

Aside from keeping a close eye on the waves for your safety, you should also keep an eye out for other sea critters. We were fortunate to see a few otters playing in the water on our hike out! We also saw a raccoon on the beach (the biggest reason for the bear canister requirement!).

Extend your visit (other places to eat, drink, hike, and explore)

Since the hike to Hole-in-the-Wall isn’t too long, you’ll likely be able to squeeze in a few stops before and after if you’re feeling up to it! We’ll be writing a more thorough post in the future on the best of the Olympic Peninsula, but for now, here are a few recommendations for other things worth checking out!

Pourhouse in Port Townsend — Port Townsend Pourhouse

Explore Port Townsend
We love this little town! It has great character and is located right on the water. A few places to check out in PT:

Pourhouse – tap room with a wide selection of Washington beers and an awesome beachfront outdoor seating area. Very relaxed vibe.
Finnriver Cidery – this is sort of like visiting a farm or an orchard, but with great food and cider! Tons of outdoor seating and very efficient service.
Brunch at Hudson Point Cafe – small breakfast spot in a cool old-looking building right on the water. Amazing food! We even saw seals from the window at our table!
A few other spots we haven’t been to yet but are on the list:

Other favorites on the Olympic Peninsula: