Second Beach Trail, Washington, United States

5lindamF5446JQ 5:00 PM Aug 3, 2021

Crazy Name for a Beach, but Wonderful Beach
Traveling along Highway 101 from Port Angeles to the Hoh Rainforest you'll come across several beaches given only numbers as names. You don't want to miss a one -or more importantly Second Beach. A beautiful beach for a walk, picnic, or watching the sunset.

4ShifraToronto 5:00 PM Aug 18, 2017

Lovely beach near La Push
First of all, after reading some of the reviews, I should mention that this is a review of Second Beach and not Beach 2. I myself was initially confused about the two. Beach 2 is close to Kalaloch Lodge and Ruby Beach. I, myself, have not gone to Beach 2. Second Beach is on the road to La Push from Forks. About six miles down that road, you can turn right and go north to Rialto Beach or turn left and go south to Second Beach. The key to enjoying the tidal pools on these beaches is to get there about half an hour before the posted low tide. Be aware that some low tides are lower than others. And, the lower the tide is, the more amazing animal life will be revealed in the tidal pools. The ranger station near Kalaloch Lodge has a listing of the tidal tables, as does the Chamber of Commerce in Forks. The personnel at both are very helpful in estimating the optimum time for you to hit the beach. As I had to choose one beach at low tide, I picked Rialto, which was a very good choice for me. You can read my review of that beach when it is posted. I got to Second Beach a few hours after low tide. By the time I had hiked down to the beach, the hole in the rock wall was immersed in water. The beach itself was beautiful and I can imagine it must have been wonderful at the lowest tide. I very much enjoyed the seven tenths of a mile hike down to the beach. At the beginning, it was fairly flat and the foliage and old growth trees were beautiful. However, as the path descended, it got steeper. There were steps (I have attached pictures so you will know what those steps look like), many banks of steps carved into the earth. The steps were uneven. I was happy to have brought my hiking poles with me. I can see that these steps might be quite slippery when muddy. The sight that greets you when you get to the bottom of the path is a wall of logs that you have to climb over. They are not small logs and they are not single logs. The logs are pressed against each other and you have to get up on them and walk along their length until you can find a gap to step down into. I would advise wearing shoes with good ankle support and lug soles. Once on the beach, after the hike and log clambering, you will see some sea stacks and a hole in a rock wall that I imagine must be like 'hole in the rock' at Rialto Beach, with many tidal pools to access at low tide. I got there too late. The hole in the rock wall was already underwater and I did not see tidal pools with sea creatures, though I had seen my fill at Rialto a few hours before. The address for this trail listed above, on Mt Angeles Road, does not seem to be correct. That is the general address for Olympic National Park. Second Beach is in La Push and not Port Angeles. The trail to Second Beach starts at the Quileute Indian Reservation, and spans 1 mile (1.6 km) before reaching the coast. The pictures do reflect the Second Beach in La Push.