One of Washington’s most photographed beaches is closed right now — and it won’t reopen until mid-October
One of the most photographed stretches of coastline in Washington is completely off-limits right now, and it’s not a wildfire or a landslide behind it. It’s road construction. Rialto Beach, the sea-stack-studded shore near Forks that’s launched a thousand feeds, has had its only access road closed since July 8.
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Mora Road is the only way in to Rialto Beach from Highway 101, and it’s been closed beyond Mora Campground since July 8. It’ll stay that way through October 15, while crews repair storm damage to the riverbank along the Quillayute River.
This isn’t a lane-shift-and-wait kind of closure, either. Both lanes are shut to cars, bikes, and pedestrians — you can’t park at the campground and walk the rest of the way in.
Mora Campground itself is still open if you’ve already got a site booked, so that part of your Forks-area trip survives. The beach it usually leads to — driftwood logjams, sea stacks marching into the surf, the Hole-in-the-Wall arch a mile and a half up the shore — just isn’t reachable until the road reopens.
When Rialto does open back up, the walk to Hole-in-the-Wall is an easy one: 3.3 miles round trip on sand, with next to no elevation gain. Time it around low tide, because the arch floods at high water — you’ll want a tide table more than a trail map for this one. Dogs are welcome on leash, but only as far as Ellen Creek, less than a mile in.
Here’s the plainly stated opinion: you’re not actually missing out this summer. Three of the four beaches in Rialto’s family tree are still wide open, and one of them might be better anyway.
First Beach, right in the town of La Push, gets you the same wild-Pacific energy with none of the closure headache — it’s reached via La Push Road, a completely different route than Mora Road. Second Beach and Third Beach share that same turnoff and are unaffected too, and Second Beach’s short forest walk to a driftwood-strewn shoreline honestly rivals Rialto’s flat beach walk. There’s a full rundown of Olympic National Park beaches worth checking before you pivot.
Farther south, Ruby Beach and the Kalaloch beaches sit right on Highway 101 itself, nowhere near Mora Road — this closure doesn’t touch them at all.
Forks is still the obvious home base while you sort out the pivot — here’s a full list of things to do in Forks — whether you’re spending the day in La Push instead or just waiting out construction before circling back for Rialto once the road clears.
Whichever beach you land on, you’re still entering Olympic National Park, so you’ll need an America the Beautiful Pass or the park’s standard entrance fee at the gate.
Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, lock in your hotel before La Push and Forks fill up for the rest of summer, or skip both and book a camper van instead — Mora Campground’s still taking sites.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.
