Surfers Make Trails More Accessible at Westport Light State Park

A few of the local surfers that wanted to help make the beach trails more accessible to the community.

Last winter, the South Beach shoreline experienced some of the most severe erosion in decades. The combination of an El Nino weather pattern, king tides, powerful swells and rain events, caused significant damage to the dunes, leaving behind steep cliff like drops. Getting to the beach at Westport Light State Park was precarious and sometimes dangerous.

The Jetty, as locals like to call it, is one of Washington state's busiest parks. But beachgoers have struggled for months to find safe access to the sand. The two main trails near the restrooms had become too steep and narrow, forcing most visitors to walk down to the jetty, which then required a balancing act navigating uneven rocks.

While still a climb, a switchback style trail, allows for easier access to the beach.

This weekend, local surfers decided to take action and started working on the trails. On Friday, a group worked on the steepest main trails and created a switchback-style paths, similar to those found on hiking trails. With continued use, these trails should become more compact and easier to navigate.

On Sunday, a group tackled the trail near the paved walking path. Although it was considered the gentlest slope to the beach last summer, it had become completely inaccessible with a six foot drop to sand. The group, armed with shovels, picks, and rakes created a wide graded path that should accommodate most beachgoers. 

(photo: the trail near the paved walkway was a steep drop to the beach)

The trails aren’t perfect and should be used at your own risk, but no one was sure if the State Park had plans to fix the issue. Regardless, after a hours of hard work, the trails are more accessible for the whole community.

The trail by the paved walkway is now wide and graded to a slope.