When it comes to pet-friendly beaches on the Olympic Peninsula, you’ve got your choice of extremes, from the gentle waters of the bay and Hood Canal beaches on the eastern coast of the peninsula to the wild, rugged, untamed, mind-blowinginly beautiful shoreline of the Pacific Ocean.

Wherever you go, follow the rules–the right way (no, “on leash” doesn’t mean you can drop the leash and let your dog run free all over the beach)–and always pick up after your pet. Whenever local citizens (or state or national parks) generously allow our pets access to parks and beaches, we should repay that generosity with good behavior so these areas remain pet friendly and become an example to other parts of the country that don’t allow such free access.

Sermon over. Here are your beaches:

CANAL AND BAY BEACHES
Fort Townsend Historical State Park
1370 Old Fort Townsend Road
Fort Townsend, WA 98368
This park offers over a mile of shoreline to explore along Fort Townsend Bay with your pet on leash.

Sequim Bay State Park
269035 Highway 101
Sequim, WA 98382
Check this park out for some bayside camping with your pet on leash.

Dosewallips State Park
306996 Highway 101
Brinnon, WA 98320
You and your pet on leash can stroll along the saltwater shoreline of Hood Canal or the freshwater shore next to Dosewallips River.

Potlatch State Park
21020 N. US Highway 101
Shelton, WA 98584
Located on Hood Canal, this is the perfect place to come and dig clams with your pet (on leash), fly a kite, or watch the wind surfers.

Twanoh State Park
12190 East State Route 106
Union, WA 98592
Situated at the southernmost point of Hood Canal, this park offers the warmest saltwater beaches in Washington, which you can enjoy with your pet on leash.

OCEAN BEACHES
Rialto Beach
Mora Road
La Push, WA 98350
Rialto Beach, which is part of the Olympic National Park, offers some of the most spectacular coast scenery in the United States, including the Cake Rock sea stack, as well as others. This beach is a great place to look for the Japanese blown-glass balls that wash up on shore. A popular destination on the beach is Hole-in-the-Wall; years upon years of beating wave action carved this tunnel-like structure into the rock. It’s a 3-mile-hike up the beach from the parking area. You and your pet on a 6-foot leash can enjoy it all together.

Kalaloch Beaches
Highway 101
Forks, WA 98331
Part of the Olympic National Park, these beaches include South Beach and Ruby Beach and offer ocean shoreline at its wildest. You and your pet on a 6-foot leash will have plenty to explore and marvel at.

Beaches of North Beach
North Beach is the portion of the Pacific Coast that stretches north of Grays Harbor and includes the communities of Ocean City, Copalis Beach, Pacific Beach, and Moclips. Your pet is welcome on leash on all the local beaches of North Beach.

Pacific Beach State Park
49 Second Street
Pacific Beach, WA 98571
You and your pet on leash can enjoy this shoreline camping park; you can even build a campfire right on the beach!

Griffiths-Priday State Park
Ocean Shores, WA 98569
You and your pet on leash can enjoy over a mile of Pacific shoreline together, as well as more than 1 3/4 miles of freshwater shore along Copalis River.

Ocean City State Park
148 State Route 115
Hoquiam, WA 98550
You and your pet on leash can explore the 170 acres of beach, dunes, and stands of shore pine that make up this coastal park.

Ocean Shores Dog Beach
Ocean Shores, WA
On the stretch of beach that runs between Butterclam Street and Taurus Boulevard, your pet can romp on the sand and in the surf sans leash. Your pooch can enjoy the rest of the beach (all 6 miles of it) as well, just on leash. This is a wonderful place for beachcombing, clamming, and surf fishing. It also experiences 12-foot tides in July and December.

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