4 Best Sights in Neah Bay, The Olympic Peninsula and Washington Coast

Part of the joy of visiting this windswept rocky outcropping that marks the northwesternmost point in the contiguous United States is making the picturesque 15-minute drive along winding Cape Loop Drive from Neah Bay. Once you've parked, follow the fairly easy ¾-mile trail, part of it along boardwalks and up and down wooden stairs, through a pristine evergreen forest to a wooden observation platform. From the platform, you can see the 1854 Cape Flattery Lighthouse standing tall on a rocky island half a mile away. Keep an eye out for sea lions, eagles, migratory birds, and whales, which often appear in the rocky cove below. To park on this land that's part of the Makah Reservation, you'll need to buy a Makah Recreation Pass (good for one year and with access to nearby Shi Shi Beach).

Thousands of Makah artworks and artifacts, some dating back to the 16th century, fill a dramatically lighted space that's the perfect backdrop for the intriguing exhibits. The centerpiece is a full-size cedar longhouse, complete with handwoven baskets, fur skins, cattail wool, and grass mats on the bed planks, with tribal music playing in the background. Another section showcases full-size whaling and seal-hunting canoes and weapons. Other areas show games, clothing, crafts, and relics from the ancient Ozette Village mudslide. The small but particularly good museum shop stocks a collection of locally made art crafts.

Although it takes some effort to get to, and it can get quite crowded during the peak summer months, this spectacular crescent of beach strewn with massive boulders and otherworldly rock formations is well worth the trek, so allow yourself a full day to experience it. The trailhead and northern section of the beach are on the Makah Reservation, and the hike in is via a scenic 2-mile rainforest trail. Once you're at the beach, it's another 2½-mile trek along the sand to reach Shi Shi's most alluring feature, the Point of Arches—a mile-long wonderland of dramatic sea stacks that look especially cool against the backdrop of the crashing surf and setting sun. The lower end of the beach and Point of Arches are within Olympic National Park. A Makah Recreation Pass (good for one year) is required for parking. To camp on the beach, you need a permit, and reservations must be obtained from the national park's Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles ( 360/565–3100  www.nps.gov/olym). Amenities: parking (fee). Best for: sunset, walking.

At this facility with a picturesque setting on the Tsoo-Yess River, near Shi Shi Beach, visitors can view chinook salmon as they make their way over fish ladders to the hatchery's spawning area. Spawning months are October through November, and the salmon are released in late April. Smaller numbers of coho and chum salmon as well as steelhead trout also populate the hatchery.