Dungeness Spit

Sunset over Dungeness Spit. The calm water in the foreground is Dungeness Bay. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

View toward the Spit from the access trail. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Dungeness Spit as seen from the access trail. Vancouver Island is dimly visible on the skyline. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Dungeness Spit from the access trail. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Starting out onto the Spit. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Drift logs on the Spit. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

View along the Spit. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Drift logs on the Spit. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Weathered drift logs. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking out along the Spit. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking across Dungeness Bay from the Spit. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking back along Dungeness Spit. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Drift logs on Dungeness Spit. Distant snowcapped peak is Mt. Baker in the Cascade Range. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking southeasterly across Dungeness Bay from the spit. Olympic Mountains on the skyline. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Lighthouse on Dungeness Spit. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Ship in the Strait of Juan de Fuca; Vancouver Island beyond. Dungeness Spit separates the strait from calm Dungeness Bay in the foreground. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

View north across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The spit separates the calm water of Dungeness Bay in the foreground from the strait. Victoria, British Columia and Vancouver Island on the opposite shore. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

A spit is a peninsula of loose sediment deposited by longshore drift. Longshore drift occurs when the prevailing wind is not perpendicular to the shore, so the incoming waves tend to move sediment along the shoreline away from the wind. When the shoreline bends abruptly, the moving sediment doesn’t follow the bend and keeps going straight. Depending on other factors such as water depth and currents, it can build out to form a peninsula known as a spit.

Dungeness Spit is the longest in the United States, spanning over five miles. It’s open for hiking on the seaward side (Dungeness Bay, on the leeward side of the spit, is a wildlife refuge and closed to hiking). Walking in the area is difficult, as the ground is composed of mostly loose sand and cobbles, and therefore slow. It’s especially important to check tide tables before embarking on a long hike, especially out to the lighthouse.

The spit becomes awash at high tide, and it’s covered with large driftwood logs that become exceedingly hazardous when thrown around by the surf.

Know Before You Go

From US-101 take Sequim Boulevard north (right) through the town of Sequim ("skwim") 5.8 miles to Lotzgesell Rd. and turn left. Don't continue on the Sequim-Dungeness Road as it doesn't connect to the park. Follow Lotzgesell Rd 3.2 miles to the entrance of the Dungeness Recreation Area on the right. From this entrance, it's about 1.1 miles to the parking area.