NEAH BAY, WASH. New trail makes access to Shi Shi beach much easier

The Makah Tribe has worked for years on the trail.
NEAH BAY, Wash. (AP) -- For decades, people have trespassed to Shi Shi beach on the Pacific coast by hiking down an unofficial trail and paying local homeowners a few bucks for a parking spot on their front lawns or in their driveways.
A new trail opened recently to make one of northwest Washington's most treasured beaches more accessible.
The Makah Tribe has been working for years to make the three-mile trail at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula. Hikers can leave their cars in a gravel lot by the trailhead. And instead of trespassing along an old logging road and an unmarked trail, visitors can traipse easily along a flat, cedar-planked walkway.
The only previous alternative to the illegal route was from the south through Olympic National Park. That two-day, 11-mile hike involves climbing rope ladders, fording a river and following a tide chart to make it over headlands without getting stranded. The new road will be a leisurely day hike.
The isolated, cash-strapped tribe hopes its new trail will bring more tourists and more money and jobs.
Downtown revitalization
In addition to the new trail, there's a revitalization plan for downtown Neah Bay, which has a few worn-looking motels and three small restaurants, mostly catering to seasonal sport fishermen.
Tourists come to fish and hike along the half-mile Cape Flattery trail to the most northwestern point of the state, but they often spend only a day because of the lack of accommodations in town.
The two-mile swoop of sand meets steep cliffs at its back, adding to the beach's sense of isolation. Waves crash against headlands, and visitors sometimes see whales and seals from shore.
Most of the beach is part of Olympic National Park, but it sits between two of the Makah's five traditional village sites. Tribal historians believe it was probably used for bathing and prayer.