August 4, 2021
There are several beaches along the Pacific coast that are within the boundaries of Olympic National Park. Some are south of Forks and some are north.
We started by going north to Rialto Beach. On the road leading to Rialto Beach we passed the Mora national park campground.
The beaches are nothing like the Jersey shore. Instead of sand, there's stone and large pieces of drift wood. Instead of a boardwalk, there is a wall of large conifers. Out in the water there are large outcroppings of rock, or sea stacks. The water is very cold, so most people walk on the beach rather than swim.
To get to the far point, you have to climb across the rocks. I didn't get very far.
When we left Rialto, we drove to La Push Beach. It is next to Rialto, but not part of the national park. It is within the Quileute Indian Reservation. The reservation land is in the middle of the northern national park beaches. As we drove into La Push, we passed the other national park beaches, labeled Beach 1, 2, and 3.
La Push was smaller and had the same stoney beach. I found the scenery to be more interesting and there were lots of pelicans to entertain us. Every time a wave broke, they would leap over it.
From another vantage point, the views of the Pacific were beautiful. The sea stacks were closer than could be seen from Rialto Beach.
We returned the next day when the sky wasn't overcast. It was much better.
On our last evening in Forks, we drove south to Ruby Beach, another of the national park beaches. I was told that the sunsets here are beautiful. So we packed a picnic supper and sat on the beach and waited with tripod and camera ready.
It turned out not to be a spectacular sunset, but it was pretty and it was fun spending the evening on the beach.
As a bonus, we turned around and saw that there was a full moon that night.
Coming up next, the mountains of the Olympic Range. Stay tuned.
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