We are camped at Cape Disappointment SP and today we hiked the Dune Forest Loop clockwise at Leadbetter Point SP. The trail was dry until we neared the end of the loop with only one tree across the trail. As we neared what we think was the end of the loop the trail had water which was deep enough to not allow passage so we returned to the park road leading to the parking lot and walked the road back to the parking lot! Having to retrace our walk along Willapa Bay made our mileage 4.5 miles! We saw only 3 other groups on the trail. I included a link from our time here in February of 2015 when we had a totally different experience! There is very little elevation gain which enabled us to do 4.5 miles!

Really was the perfect time for this area - lots of the trails are flooded in winter and mosquitoes can be awful early summer but no water on the trail and no bugs right now. Expect soggy socks from all the dew on the plants early in the morning. Most the forest trails are narrow and a tad brushy, but easy to find. It feels like a green tunnel at times.

Some gorse and blackberry in spots, but no bloodshed...

This is an interersting loop, particularly combined with going out to the beach. Scenery changes from swampy areas (currently dry), to forested dunes, and beach on either end.

I had planned to do the hike that Dan Nelson mentioned in his 2nd edition of Best Hikes with Dogs. Things change and this particular hike can no longer be done with a dog. In the 3 hikes mentioned by WTA, all say "no dogs allowed;" however, that has changed a bit also in that on a some sections dogs are allowed on leash.

There is pretty good signage about it on the trail, but it can also be a bit confusing and conflicting. We did part of the Dune trail (beautiful). Going inland, there was lots of brush and also a good amount of mosquitos and I believe that section can't have dogs per the sign we saw midway, so we took the road back up to the car.

As for the dog "frolicking on the beach," as mentioned by Dan, better option is to access the beach at Oysterville and go right (no cars) and they can run their hearts out on quiet days. Leash required but it seems that if the situation permits it, lots of happy dogs and local owners are enjoying their backyard socializing together.

All Leadbetter hikes are beautiful and a bird and wildlife lover's paradise. It also seems very quiet. It is a state park, clean restrooms on 2 sections of trail, nice signage and discover pass requires, can't buy on site. Better to leave the dog home and enjoy the wildlife and entire park.

There is also another small state park Pacific Pines which doesn't allow cars to go on the beach, but there is a short trail from the parking area to the beach. Dogs allowed.

The Dune Forest Loop trail is in great condition.  However, if your intention is to head west on a trail to the Pacific Ocean, then it's unlikely you will make it unless you are wearing chest waders.  Both the west heading Weather Beach Trail and the west heading Bearberry Trail very quickly turn into a swamp with water above your knees.  And when the weather is 30 degrees, wearing shorts and old sneakers is not appealing.  See my screenshot with red waypoints showing where the trail becomes impassable.  I contacted the park officials and they said that this area is most often flooded in winter/spring, and infested with bugs in summer. Hmmm.

We started at the north parking lot and walked north on the Bay trail on the beach. Shortly after the trail leaves the beach the lengthy sections of watery trail began. We turned around and walked the beach section of the Dunes trail. On both sections of beach on the bay side there are lots of downed trees which is fine when the tide is down but would make for very slow going if the tide were up. We walked a ways on the fires section of the trail from the southern/middle parking lot and bailed when we encountered the expected swimming pools masking as a trail. We walker back to the car on the road and encountered two cars.
There weren’t as many birds as we have sometimes seen. Merlin says there were marbled godwits. Several herons. Some rainbows. Three other people total.
Lovely day.