Look right beyond a bend in the road, not too early in the summer when the alder trees have grown thick, and you might catch a glimpse of an island in the mudflats of Willapa Bay.

Only a narrow, steep path beyond a guard rail along U.S. Highway 101 leads to the small beach beside Conifer Island, a sandstone rock covered by leaning trees. It’s tucked away on the bay’s eastern shore, between South Bend and Bay Center.

Follow the sloping trail, carefully, to find a secluded and flat shore dotted with mussels and oyster shells.

As the sun set late on a drive back from Seattle, I stopped on the roadside and took a walk down this path. I had, without planning, chosen a time that agreed with the tides. On the climb back uphill, I was helped along by a rope someone had tied to a tree.

Later that night, I searched for the island’s name, coming up short of results. Only a few black-and-white photographs of the place appeared under the name Conifer Island. Fitting for its leaning forest over the bay.