Olympic National Park removing some Kalaloch Cabins due to coastal erosion

Charles W. Becker originally purchased some 40 acres along Kalaloch Creek on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in the early 1920s at a time when the Mount Olympus National Monument was the only federally protected land in the area.

The evolution of protection on the peninsula eventually saw the establishment of the Olympic National Forest, Olympic National Park, and a significant expansion of Olympic National Park, and eventually the area along Kalaloch Creek fell into the laps of ther National Park Service. The original lodge that Becker had built landed with the park, too, and it’s been operated within park boundaries along the shore of the Pacific Ocean ever since, with a large campground and a series of cabins perched on the bluffs above the shoreline added over the years.

Lately, though, the shoreline has been fighting back.

Starting on January 1st of this year, ten coastal cabins had been closed to the public due to the perilous nature of their standing on the sandy bluffs above the beach, and as of yesterday they are now officially being removed altogether. Olympic Deputy Superintendent Kevin Killian confirmed as much yesterday in a press release by the NPS, citing the increasing coastal erosion over the last 10 years as the final culprit.

If my amateur sleuthing is to be trusted, cabins 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 43, and 44 are the cabins on the chopping block, since those are the ones that had been announced as ‘permanently closed’ on the Kalaloch Lodge’s website. They are all part of the Bluff Cabins that sit closest to the shoreline, with the bulk of the rest of the cabins in a row behind them. I’ve seen multiple numbers referenced for the total number of cabins on the property – between 40 and 44, depending upon the source – meaning there are at least 30 (or more) cabins that should still be in use if you’re looking to go.

The Kalaloch Lodge appears safe from the erosion, for now. Now might be precisely the time to go check it out while the bulk of the structures are still sound in this beautiful corner of the country.

If You Go…

Kalaloch Lodge is roughly 3 hours due west of Seattle, Washington, just north of the Quinalt Reservation. It is located just off US highway 101 where Kalaloch Creek meets the sea.

The Kalaloch Lodge features wood-burning stoves in most rooms, rooms that don’t have telephones or televisions. And while pets are not allowed in the main lodge itself, the rentable cabins are very much pet friendly.

Should you choose to camp at the beautiful location instead, the large Kalaloch Campground is bookable through Recreation.gov.