Coastal Region

Our adventure in the coastal region of Olympic National Park started at Mora Campground. John, Aspen and I awoke and ran the two miles to Rialto Beach. Our first views of the rock formations in the water were through fog. We spent awhile on the beach climbing drift logs of enormous trees; so wild! The run back was tough for me because my tank was EMPTY.

We took a detour on our way to Ruby Beach to see a Western Red Cedar that was at least 1,000 years’ old.

Ruby Beach

The drive to Ruby Beach was about an hour because there’s no direct way along the coast. The parking lot was already full when we arrived, so we had to park on the side of the road. There was also a considerable line for the bathrooms. We clearly had gotten a late start.

It was low tide when we arrived, and we explored the beach and marveled at the sea stacks and cliffs. We were there long enough that the beach was getting smaller as the tide rolled in. I was pretty chilled by the sea air. It was nice to get warmed up on the ride to Third Beach off of La Push Road in the vicinity of our campground.

Third Beach

It’s cool to take a 1.4-mile walk through the forest to reach the coast, and that’s what you get to do to reach Third Beach. This was the highlight of my day. There was plenty of huge drift logs and rocks to climb upon. Tents were scattered along the shore, some belonging to people backpacking the South Coast Wilderness Trail; definitely something for us to do if we return to this part of Olympic.

Back at Mora Campground, John showed Aspen how to use the Jetboil, and we cooked a gumbo Good To-Go Meal and a strawberry cheesecake dessert by PackIt Gourmet; both were pretty tasty. We ended the day with a giggly game of Five Kings, which was my second favorite part of the day. Tomorrow we explore one of the largest temperate rain forests in the United States.

Other posts you might like:

• Olympic National Park 2
• Rainier National Park 1
• North Cascades National Park 1
• Glacier National Park 1