You’re standing on the edge of the world, or at least it feels that way. The wind off the Strait of Juan de Fuca is biting, even in July. Most people come to Salt Creek Recreation Area for the tide pools at Tongue Point, but if you turn your back to the water and look into the trees, you'll see them. Massive, grey, and oddly silent. These are the Camp Hayden gun emplacements, and honestly, they look more like ancient Mayan temples or Star Wars sets than American military tech.
Most hikers just see big concrete boxes covered in moss. "Oh, cool, a bunker," they say, before heading back to look for starfish. But if you actually stop and look at the scale of Battery 131, you start to realize the sheer paranoia and engineering desperation of 1942. We weren't just building "forts." We were trying to turn the Pacific Northwest into an impenetrable wall.
The Guns That Could Hit Canada from Your Campsite
Let’s get the specs out of the way because they’re actually insane. The stars of the show were the 16-inch Mark 2 Navy guns. Basically, these were "hand-me-downs" from battleships that were never finished because of international treaties.
They weren't just big; they were monsters. Each barrel was about 66 feet long. Imagine a steel tube longer than a semi-truck trailer. These things could hurl a projectile weighing over 2,000 pounds—literally the weight of a Honda Civic—about 28 miles. If you stood at the Camp Hayden gun emplacements today and pulled the trigger, you could technically hit Victoria, British Columbia, without breaking a sweat.
The bunkers, or casemates, were built of steel-shielded concrete. They weren't just sitting there; they were designed to eat a direct hit from a Japanese battleship and keep firing.
Why Does This Place Exist?
Context matters. It's 1941. Pearl Harbor just happened. The West Coast is convinced a Japanese carrier fleet is going to show up off the coast of Washington any second. Camp Hayden—initially called the Striped Peak Military Reservation—was part of a massive "ring of fire" protecting the entrance to Puget Sound.
It wasn't alone. You’ve probably heard of Fort Worden or Fort Casey. But Hayden was the heavy hitter. While those other forts had older disappearing guns, Hayden had the modern 16-inchers at Battery 131 and the faster 6-inch guns at Battery 249.
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The weird part? The guns were only test-fired once.
One time.
That's it.
The war ended, the "threat" never materialized on the Washington coast, and the Army basically said, "Well, that was expensive," and packed up by 1948. By 1959, the land was being sold off to Clallam County. Now, you can literally park your Subaru where a 16-inch shell used to sit.
The "Hidden" Battery 249
Everyone goes to the big casemates (the 131s) because they're hard to miss. You can literally drive your car through one of them—it’s the weirdest "garage" in Washington. But if you're willing to sweat a little, take the Striped Peak trail.
Battery 249 is tucked away up there. It’s smaller, designed for 6-inch guns that could fire five rounds a minute. It feels different than the lower ones. It’s creepier. The forest has done a better job of reclaiming it. You’ll find fire control stations and radar remnants if you know where to look. Honestly, it feels like the forest is slowly eating the 1940s.
What You'll Actually Find Today
If you go there tomorrow, don't expect to see the guns. They’re gone. Scrapped. Melted down for refrigerators or cars decades ago.
What’s left is the "skeleton."
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- The Magazine Rooms: Deep, dark, and damp. Bring a flashlight. Seriously. Your phone light won't cut it in the back corners where the ammunition was stored.
- The View: The military didn't choose this spot for the aesthetics, but man, they picked a winner. You can see across to Vancouver Island.
- The Concrete: Look for the bolt patterns in the floor. That’s where the massive carriages were anchored to the earth.
Real Talk: Is It Worth the Trip?
If you’re a history nerd, yes. 100%. If you just want a cool Instagram photo, also yes. But there’s a nuance here that most travel blogs miss. Camp Hayden represents a very specific moment in American history where we were genuinely terrified. Walking through these ruins gives you a sense of that scale that a textbook can't.
It’s also a bit of a lesson in how fast nature wins. These were the strongest structures humans knew how to build in 1942. Now, there are ferns growing out of the ceiling and graffiti on the walls. It’s a memento mori for military spending.
How to Visit Without Being "That" Tourist
- Park at Salt Creek Recreation Area. It’s about 15 miles west of Port Angeles.
- Look for Battery 131 first. It’s right near the main camping loop. You can’t miss the giant concrete eyebrows peeking out of the hill.
- Hike Striped Peak for Battery 249. It’s a 5-to-7-mile loop depending on how much you wander. It’s steep. Wear actual boots, not flip-flops.
- Mind the Tide. If you’re already there, check the tide tables. You can see the bunkers and the best tide pools in the state in one afternoon if you time it right.
- Safety First. These are old ruins. There are drop-offs, rusty rebar, and dark holes. Don't let your kids (or your clumsy friends) run wild inside the darker corridors.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that these guns were used to fight off a specific attack. They weren't. They were a deterrent. They’re essentially a $500 million "Keep Out" sign that worked because nobody ever tried to test it.
Also, people often confuse Camp Hayden with the older "Three Forts" (Worden, Casey, Flagler). Hayden was the "New Guard." It was built to handle the age of the airplane and the modern battleship. It was the peak of coastal defense technology right before missiles made the whole concept of a big gun in a concrete hole completely obsolete.
Next Steps for Your Visit
To get the most out of your trip to the Camp Hayden gun emplacements, you should start by downloading a high-resolution map of the Salt Creek Recreation Area trails. The signage on-site is okay, but it doesn't always show the smaller access paths to the fire control stations.
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If you want to see what the guns actually looked like when they were mounted, look up the "16-inch Mark 2" naval gun archives on the NavWeaps database. Seeing the scale of the machinery that used to sit in those empty concrete circles changes the way you look at the space.
Finally, check the Clallam County Parks website for gate hours. During the winter (October through April), the park closes earlier at 9:00 PM, and you don't want to be hiking back from Battery 249 in the pitch black of the Olympic Peninsula woods.