La Push Tide Pools 2026: Second Beach's Best Low-Tide Days (Rialto Beach Is Closed)

La Push's September 9–12 morning run has passed. At NOAA station 9442396, October's highest-scoring window is Sunday, October 25: −0.71 ft MLLW at 6:48 PM, score 52 (Fair), with 71 minutes of daylight elsewhere in the window—not at the low itself. No remaining 2026 window reaches Good. NPS still lists the Mora Road closure to Rialto; its scheduled October 15 endpoint is not a confirmed reopening.

The autumn story is a trade-off between depth and light. The full high-and-low charts show both; a short list of low windows does not. This guide keeps the summer tables as history and puts the remaining dates first.

First, the Rialto Beach closure

If you searched "Hole-in-the-Wall Rialto Beach low tide," the access notice comes before the tide table. The NPS conditions page, checked September 18, lists construction from July 8–October 15, 2026, closing Mora Road beyond Mora Campground to pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles. The campground remains open. NPS states: "Rialto Beach will not be accessible via Mora Road during this construction period."

The listed end date does not confirm that the road will reopen that day. Nothing in the tables below overrides the closure or establishes a route to Hole-in-the-Wall.

Second Beach and Third Beach are separate trail destinations, described below using NPS trail information. A shared station reference does not mean identical local timing or verified access at either beach.

La Push tide chart: September and October 2026

For the complete daily sequence, use the September La Push tide chart or the October La Push tide chart. Both include high and low predictions for La Push, Quillayute River (9442396). They are station-specific charts, not a single timetable for the whole Olympic coast.

The selection below compares a near-term September date, October options and late-year examples. A qualifying window has at least 30 minutes between sunrise and sunset somewhere within the modeled below-+1-ft interval. That does not mean the low itself—or the entire interval—is in daylight. All times are local, with the seasonal clock change applied.

Computed September 18, 2026, from the La Push fact sheet. This is a selection, not every remaining low or every qualifying window.

October 25 has October's highest score; December 23 has the highest score among all remaining 2026 qualifying windows, still only Fair. Six of these seven lows are after sunset. December 21 is about two minutes before sunset: a useful illustration of why 113 minutes of window overlap is not 113 minutes around a daylit low. Tide predictions are not observations or confirmation of beach, trail or headland access.

When is the lowest tide at La Push in 2026?

Tidewindow uses La Push, Quillayute River (9442396) as its reference. The fact sheet covers July 1–December 31, not the full year. These are that period's eight deepest lows with at least 30 minutes of window daylight overlap, ranked by depth. All eight dates have passed.

Computed 2026-07-08 from NOAA station 9442396 predictions, MLLW.

All eight in this July–December ranking fell in July or August; five fell in the July 12–16 span. This is a ranking of the dataset's covered period, not a claim about January–June.

Tuesday the 14th was deeper at −3.00 ft but scored 90, while Sunday the 12th scored 97 at −2.14 ft. The methodology page explains how depth, daylight overlap, weekends and season contribute to the score. It is a comparison model, not an access assessment.

The July 12–17 Exceptional run: a historical comparison

The July run reached Exceptional (90+) on all six dates below. The original table and computation date remain as a record, not a future itinerary. The model's "arrive by" field is one hour before the predicted low; it is not a verified walking time or departure rule.

Computed 2026-07-08 from NOAA station 9442396 predictions. Scores (0–100) weigh tide depth and daylight together.

The low shifted from 5:35 AM on Sunday to 9:26 AM on Friday. The West Coast minus-tide roundup preserves the same week's comparison with Puget Sound, Oregon and California.

September 9–12: the passed morning run

These four morning minus-tide windows have passed. They qualified through at least 30 minutes of daylight overlap; the first two lows were before sunrise. The full remaining-2026 dataset has no morning minus-tide window meeting that overlap threshold.

Computed 2026-09-01 from NOAA station 9442396 predictions, MLLW. Scores (0–100) weigh tide depth and daylight together.

September 9 was the deepest of these four; September 11 scored highest at 57. The entire September 11 window was not daylit—it began before sunrise. Neither its score nor its depth establishes which rocks or pools were reachable. For the inland seasonal comparison, the Puget Sound tide chart guide also preserves its passed September run.

Where to go: Second Beach (and Third Beach)

The NPS Second Beach trail page lists 0.7 mile each way, an 80-foot gain and a 100-foot loss on the way in. It also lists a $10 daily parking fee on Quileute Tribal Lands, including Second Beach, effective May 1, 2026; payment information is on that page. NPS prohibits pets on coastal beaches and trails. These details were checked September 18; they are not a guarantee of conditions on a future visit.

The Third Beach trail page lists 1.4 miles each way, with a 240-foot descent on the way in. It is a separate destination, not a route around the Mora Road closure.

The station is at the Quillayute River mouth. Its predictions are the reference used here, not measurements taken at each beach. The modeled window and "arrive by" time do not verify local timing, walking duration, opening hours or passage around a headland.

What you'll find in the pools

In the September 18 fact sheet's recent 60-day, 5-km observation log, Horned Nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis) leads with 34 observations. Frilled Dogwinkle (Nucella lamellosa) and Striped Dogwinkle (Nucella ostrina) follow with six each. The listed species also include Chocolate Aeolid, Monterey Dorid, Nanaimo Dorid, Black Tegula, Black Leather Chiton, Hind's Chiton and California Mussel. This is a record of reported observations, not an abundance survey or a promise of sightings at Second Beach.

Species reflect recent iNaturalist observations near the station (CC BY-NC, © the individual observers); NOAA is the tide-prediction data source. What you actually see depends on the day.

What the tide window does—and does not—tell you

The calculations compare water levels and daylight. Route restrictions and on-the-ground conditions are separate. In Tides and Your Safety, NPS says: "Always carry a tide chart, available at visitor centers and coastal ranger stations, to time your hikes accordingly."

The park's tidepool activities page adds: "Do not leap from rock to rock. Always keep at least one foot on the ground." Its full guidance remains the source for visiting the pools; the station score is not a substitute.

The rest of 2026: depth is not daylight

The deeper remaining lows in the selected table come with short daylight overlaps: October 26 has 40 minutes, November 24 has 32 and December 23 has 39. The lows themselves are all after sunset. The Washington king-tide guide separates the season's high-water predictions from these low-window calculations; neither establishes a place to watch from. The dawn-lows guide explains the seasonal timing shift.

For other dates, the year heatmap, Trip Picker and Tide Window Finder use the current prediction dataset. The September and October charts above include the highs as well as the lows. For Rialto access, the answer still comes from NPS—not the calendar.