Fog Forecast for Rialto Beach

Rialto Beach in the Mora unit of Olympic National Park is a long, wild Pacific-facing beach north of La Push, accessible by road and stretching into undeveloped wilderness coastline. The beach is famous among photographers for its enormous driftwood piles — some logs the size of houses, bleached white and stacked by winter storms — combined with offshore sea stacks and almost constant Pacific fog and mist. It is one of the rawest, most photogenic coastlines in the lower 48 states.

The driftwood field at the beach access point is itself the primary photography subject when fog sits at ground level and wraps around the massive bleached logs. Hole-in-the-Wall, a rock arch about 1.5 kilometers north along the beach, is the most iconic destination — a natural arch in the sea stack that fog streams through at high tide. The arch is accessible at low tide and is dramatically different in fog than in clear conditions. June through September is the peak marine fog season, though the beach is spectacular in winter storm light as well.

Rialto Beach fog is pure Pacific marine layer with nothing between the beach and the open ocean. The fog arrives from the west and northwest, usually thickest from midnight through 10am before the sea breeze picks up and begins clearing from the water. Checking the Quillayute airport weather station just inland gives the best local fog indicator — if visibility there is holding above 1,500 meters while the coast is fogged in, conditions are likely to be dynamic and photogenic rather than a uniform gray wall.

Humidity alone isn't enough. Wind alone isn't enough. Cloud cover alone isn't enough. Photogenic valley fog requires several conditions to line up at once, and most weather apps don't read them together.