This was probably one of our favorite hikes that we did while visiting Olympic National Park. We arrived early at the parking area and enjoyed a three-quarter mile stroll through the forest before reaching Second Beach. Surprisingly, very few people were exploring the beach and it made us feel like we had the whole place to ourselves. The tidal pools were incredible and since the tide was extremely low, we even were able to walk out to Crying Lady Rock. It was pretty close to a perfect morning!
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| Making our way through the rainforest on our way to Second Beach |
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Descending the last 150 ft to the beach . . .
Peeking through the trees and it looks like this is going to be a good one! |
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Once down on the beach we began making our way north towards this rock pillar . . .
There was so much to explore on this beach we almost didn't know where to start! |
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Looking back at Crying Lady Rock . . .
From this angle it doesn't appear to be accessible . . . but during low tide you can walk between these rocks . . . Which we later did (see below) |
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| Second Beach also has it's own Hole-in-the-Rock, but this one couldn't be reached from the shore |
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| Kent found this interesting shell, but then it began to move in his hand! |
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| Mr. Hermit crab was still inside and sidled away quickly once he was released back into the tide pool |
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| As you can see . . . Second Beach has pristine sand, beautiful sea stacks, and amazing tide pools |
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| Different colored starfish and a few green sea anemones were thrown into the mix |
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Making our way around the south side of Crying Lady Rock . . .
This picture shows how low the tide was . . . notice the staining on the bottom of the sea stack . . .
That's were it's at during high tide! |
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| Starfish were everywhere! |
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Some of the most interesting pinnacles we've ever seen!
No wonder the Quileute tribe hold these natural formations with spiritual and cultural pride! |
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| Looking out of a sea cave on the seaward side of Crying Lady Rock |
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Mr. & Mrs. Shadow even made their appearance on Second Beach . . .
They give this beach a 10 out of 10! |
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| Heading back towards the mainland |
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| One more rock to climb before leaving the beach |
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| Sometimes it was hard to find the trail due to stacked driftwood blocking the entrance, but mainly to us not paying attention of our whereabouts while exploring . . . If this happens to you (as it did to us), watch for this sign posted on a tree . . . we're not sure if it's a tsunami escape route symbol, but we found it helpful to locate the trailhead on most of the beaches we visited |
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| Coral fungus |
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Making the final push up the embankment before heading through the rainforest back to our car . . .
It was a great visit! |
We are both in agreement that this was our favorite beach . . . even more so than
Rialto! Arriving fairly early (7:30am), gave us plenty of time to wander and explore Second Beach without the crowds (oh, there were a fair amount of visitors, but they arrived as we were leaving). It seemed like the only people on the beach with us were those who had camped overnight (yes, this is allowed with a wilderness permit). If you only have time to visit one beach on the Olympic Peninsula, make sure it's this one!
