During the summer of 2020 after months of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and the limitations surrounding travel, we decided to get out of our little bubble and hit the road. After some consideration, we chose to head to the beaches on the coastal section of the Olympia National Park. It was a location we thought might have fewer crowds than other hot spots during the month of August, and it was an area we hadn’t yet been able to explore.
This turned out to be a day trip that would top the list of day trips.
We got an early start and traveled through Hoquiam north along Highway 101. By the time we reached Lake Quinault, we needed a break so we made a pit stop near the Quinault Lodge before heading on our way again. The lodge and surrounding trails in the Quinault Rain Forest is a favorite of ours and you can read more about that trip here.
From there we drove further on 101 through beautiful hills with hardly any traffic. It truly felt like we had the whole landscape to ourselves as we continued on our journey. The lush green forest finally gave way to the Queets River and eventually the coastal views we were looking forward to. I’d researched ahead of time and was aware some of the beaches along this route aren’t clearly marked, and some trails didn’t allow dogs, so we were excited when we located the first beach on our list: simply named Beach 1.
We parked and entered the trail where we found ourselves enveloped by a massive amount of beautiful and unique trees. If I had to describe them, it would appear the trees had developed their own sort of tumors. There was a loop trail accessible where you could view more of these unique trees with various types of growth, which we learned were called burls, a deformity of sort. If you’ve seen furniture made by trees with burls, you know the result can be very beautiful. Fortunately, the trees in this forest are protected so visitors can enjoy them in nature.
Once we explored the burl nature walk, we found our way down to the beach using a trail that meandered down the hillside and over a bridge leading to a large amount of driftwood. We finally reached the sand after working our way over and through the driftwood, so this is not an easy accessible beach for anyone who might need accommodations. But it’s a beautiful beach once you get there and we shared the beach with only a few other visitors.
We eventually made our way back up the hillside and headed to the next destination, which ended up being the Kalaloch Lodge after we skipped Beach 2. This area was a nice surprise, with a beautiful lodge that dates back to the 1950’s, cabins you can rent (and we plan to at some point), and stairs giving you easy access to the beach below.
The beach was large and beautiful...
...with a large cove between the lodge and the beach where kids and adults alike can explore the water with large rocks underneath you could stand on...
...and over some of those rocks was the largest fallen tree I think I’ve ever seen (the lodge up on the hill looks small compared to the tree!).
We skipped the Kalaloch Creek Rainforest/Nature Trail because I read that dogs weren’t allowed so our next stop was a visit to Big Cedar Tree. We’ve seen our share of old, large trees and this one wouldn’t be in our top ten, but it was a tree with unique features and there was a nice trail through a forest where you could stretch your legs and view various old trees. What we missed and which we will definitely go back to see is the Tree of Life, which had been on our list of sights to see, but missed this time around.
We had a long day ahead of us so we finally moved on to our next stop, the beach we had been looking forward to the most: Ruby Beach. By this time in the day, there were more visitors in the area and the access road to Ruby Beach was packed. I can’t imagine what it’s like during a non-pandemic year. The long gravel drive offered parking on the shoulder if there wasn’t parking down below around the loop closer to the bathrooms, which there wasn’t, so we were fortunate to catch someone leaving as we were coming in. The trail to the beach is fairly easy going in, but you also have to work your way through some driftwood once you get to the beach. And, with an incline going out and if you have to walk all the way up the gravel driveway to access your vehicle when you leave, it can be a tiring walk.
If you can manage all that, the beach is definitely worth the visit.
There’s a cove to the right as you enter the beach area, where multiple children were swimming and playing or floating by way of driftwood. Because the cove is back quite a bit from the beach and has a slight hill between it and the actual beach, the wind was limited in this area and made for a great play area for families. Jozee would have loved to jump in the water and play right along with the kids, but everyone was doing their best to stay socially distant and that included our dogs, as well, so fetching sticks is what she had to stick with.
We made our way over the incline from the cove to the beach and while it could get windy, it was beautiful. We moved along the beach, gawking at the beautiful sea stacks (rock islands) and overall beauty of the whole area. It truly is a gorgeous area of the Washington coastline and looking out at the ocean, when the clouds lifted, the view went on forever.
But we still had a ways to go on this adventure so we finally got back in our SUV and headed further north, still along Hwy 101, until we reached Forks. If you’re an avid reader, or not living under a rock, you probably know that the popular Twilight series was set in Forks.
We decided to grab dinner in Forks and we were in the mood for pizza so we placed an order with Pacific Pizza. The pizza was delicious and we enjoyed it at a rest area near the river running through Forks before we hit the road again.
Our plan had been to visit the beach at La Push but when I had prepped for this trip, I failed to realize that the La Push reservation and beach access were closed to visitors due to the pandemic.
So we changed course and drove to Rialto Beach instead where we found another beautiful beach. We were also able to get a look at some of the sea stacks we had hoped to get a closer look at if we’d been able to visit La Push. We walked the beach for a bit before we decided it was finally time to head home.
Our plan before we left the area had been to bid the day goodbye with a sunset at Ruby Beach, but when we returned to Ruby Beach it was still very crowded and the sun wasn’t ready to set. We didn’t have the energy to park and walk down to the beach to wait it out, so we moved on until we reached Kalaloch Lodge. With easy access to the beach via the stairs just beyond the cabins, we didn’t have to wait long until the sun bid us farewell with a sunset that took my breath away.
It was a wonderful way to end the day before our long trip back home. The Washington coast doesn’t always guarantee beautiful days at the beach and we felt fortunate to have been treated to such gorgeous weather all day during our road trip. Even more so when on the way home we were on the receiving end of a massive thunder and lightning show as we were driving back through the hills on 101.
That’s the Washington coast for you; it’s a bit temper mental. That’s how we’ve learned to appreciate the beautiful weather when we’re lucky enough to get it. But if you ask Jozee, she enjoys getting out on an adventure with her favorite people no matter what the weather is like!
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