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Third Beach

Featured In: Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula, by Craig Romano.
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An easy hike to one of the Olympic Coast's famed wilderness beaches. Walk the wide sandy beach to the foot of a waterfall tumbling from a towering bluff right into the crashing surf. Feeling more energetic? Leave the crowds behind by grunting over Taylor Point to a secluded beach flanked by steep sea stacks and flower pot islands.

Start off on an old road through a scrappy forest of Sitka spruce, hemlock, and alder. The trail has been greatly improved over the last decade. No longer are you at risk of being swallowed by a mud hole on the way to Third Beach. After 0.5 mile the trail veers left, leaving the old road and entering a more attractive forest.

Continue walking and soon you'll hear the surf and taste the salty air. Begin a slow descent, and after 1.3 miles of hiking, voila -the beach! Hemmed in by two imposing headlands, Teahwhit Head and Taylor Point, Third Beach extends for about a mile along Strawberry Bay. Hard to imagine that this wild sweep of coastline was once explored for oil. Luckily for the integrity of the environment and for us hikers, the drillings never proved abundant or profitable.

If you care to escape Third Beach's frequent crowds, hike left (south) 0.5 mile toward the overland trail to admire a waterfall plunging from its heights straight into the pounding waves below.

Driving Directions:

From Port Angeles follow US 101 west for 55 miles to the junction with State Route 110 (signed "Mora-La Push"). (From Forks the junction is 2 miles north.) Continue west on SR 110. In 7.7 miles at Quillayute Prairie, SR 110 splits. Take the left fork (La Push Road) and proceed 3.8 miles to the trailhead, located on the south side of the road. Privy available.

Recent Trip Reports

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There are 40 trip reports for this hike. See all trip reports for this hike.

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Third Beach — May 30, 2009 — Ed Hunds

Day hike

Issues: Mudholes

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Third Beach trail is off hwy 110 by LaPush on the southern coast. Beautiful day, beautiful easy tra...

Third Beach trail is off hwy 110 by LaPush on the southern coast. Beautiful day, beautiful easy trail to Third Beach. Not very people. Hiked from Third Beach trail head to just shy of Scott's Bluff. The hike to Scoot's Bluff beach encountered many mud holes but no bugs (yet....). The steepness of the rope ladders, stairs and the steep mud step hills dictates this trail is not for those out of shape or the wearing of non-trail sandals or shoes. Trekking poles are highly recommended especially if carrying a heavy load.

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Third Beach, Second Beach — Dec 11, 2008 — GaliWalker

Day hike

Issues: Mud/Rockslide | Mudholes

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Dec 11, 2008: Washington Coast (La Push) Every year, as winter comes around my eyes turn to the W...

Dec 11, 2008: Washington Coast (La Push)

Every year, as winter comes around my eyes turn to the Washington Coast. With almost no one else around, I can roam around the pristine beaches in lonely splendor. This year La Push was on my radar with its relatively easy access to Third and Second Beaches.

Third Beach – Taylor Point:

My day began early as I caught the 5:30am ferry to Bainbridge Island. A long, scenic drive ensued and it was 9:20am as I began my first hike from the Third Beach trailhead. A beautiful rain-forest enthralled me and I gawked at the lush ferns under an incredibly high canopy – it looked like all the trees had decided that there was no need to bother with growing any branches, much better to expend all the energy in the race to the top.

1.5mi of pretty hiking, culminating in a steep drop, had me at the large expanse of Third Beach. Ahhh, no one else around. I wandered south along the beach until I was blocked by the headland of Taylor Point and crashing waves. A beautiful waterfall tumbled down the Taylor Point cliffs in the distance, but the sun was directly in my eyes so I had to be content with glimpses.

I retraced my steps and found the rope ladder leading up the muddy hillside, which would allow me to bypass Taylor Point. The 0.5mi or so to the far side of Taylor point was through more lovely forest and some gorgeous fern gardens. Eventually I dropped over to a secluded cove, climbed over another smallish headland (more ropes) and down to the beach past Taylor Point. About 20min later I was on my way back.

Second Beach:

I wanted to catch the sunset at Second Beach, since I have seen numerous photographs of it in photography books. A short 1.5mi drive from the Third Beach trailhead had me at the Second Beach trailhead. The hike to it was only 0.75mi or so long, and once again, I had the beach to myself. (Well, except for the dog who followed me all the way to the beach, despite my repeatedly pointing out the “No dogs allowed” sign to him. Dogs, these days, really do need to be able to read better…)

Additional photos: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/72157611180177650

Cumulative stats:
- Distance: 7mi
- Gain: 1,150ft
- Hiking/photography time: 7.5hrs
- Trip time: 18hrs

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Third Beach, Toleak Point — Sep 28, 2008 — twocoots

Overnight

Issues: Mudholes

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A somewhat unusual report for this hike in that the weather was fabulous - mid 70's, gentle breeze. ...

A somewhat unusual report for this hike in that the weather was fabulous - mid 70's, gentle breeze.

As with most coast hikes, attention must be paid to the tide tables. Strawberry Point can only be rounded at a tide of four feet or less - don't get stranded!

The overland routes to get over Taylor Point and Scott's Bluff have ropes and/or rope ladders to traverse what is basically steep, muddy clay. Even on the dry day we had following a full summer, the trail was slick with many muddy spots. The more typical rainy weather would produce even worse conditions. We never felt we were in precarious situations on the overland routes, but they were not necessarily easy for our old bones carrying overnight packs.

The trail in general was in surprisingly poor shape considering it is in a national park. And even though large stretches of the trail are on the beach, walking on the sand is not as easy as a packed trail. In short, by the time we covered the almost 14 miles round trip, we knew we had exerted ourselves.

The scenery was top notch and we had the bonus of having all of Toleak Point to ourselves! There are many campsites on the beach although they would probably feel quite exposed and sandy with windier conditions. We did not explore the possible inland camps that might be preferable in poorer weather.

Fresh water is available from small creeks near Scott's Bluff and on the far side of Toleak Point, maybe a hundred yards from the actual point. A water filter is handy.

A surprising lack of wildlife - we only saw one seal and one eagle. Even gulls were in very short supply. There were plenty of raccoon tracks though, be sure to have your bear canister (available from the Park Service in Port Angeles or Forks when you pick up your backcountry permit).

Another day would have been nice to really explore the area but the overnight allowed us to enjoy a gorgeous sunset and the different lighting that the dawn provided. All in all, a spectacular trip.

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Third Beach #23 — May 25, 2008 — Eric de Place

Day hike

Issues: Mudholes

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May 23-25 We wandered down to Toleak Point for a couple of nights of camping on the beach. It was w...

May 23-25

We wandered down to Toleak Point for a couple of nights of camping on the beach. It was wonderful, if a little crowded (to be expected, I guess, on Memorial Day Weekend). The headland crossings are all in decent-enough shape, with a few fun clambers up rope ladders or slippery mud slopes with a fixed-rope assist. It is quite muddy though. We day hiked down beyond Goodman Creek and explored the coves near the mouth of the creek. Goodman is completely passable, except maybe at high tide when it probably gets belly-deep or higher.

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Third Beach #23 — May 23, 2008 — Shawn Hammer

Day hike

Issues: Blowdowns | Mudholes

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For the past eight years I have made my annual pilgrimage to Toleak Point on the Olympic Peninsula. ...

For the past eight years I have made my annual pilgrimage to Toleak Point on the Olympic Peninsula. This year was no exception except that I made the trip on Memorial Day Weekend (most years I go two to three weeks ahead to avoid the crowds) For me, the hike starts with a drive to the Edmonds/Kingston ferry and then a drive out towards Forks to get to La Push road where the trail head begins.

The trail this year is much different than years past. On the first let ( Third Beach trailhead to Third Beach) there was a large blowdown at about .75 miles. There is a rough trail around but I would suggest a very short belly crawl under to avoid more damage to the surrounding area. The tree is stable and I made it under with my pack on and a five-gallon bucket attached to the back of my pack. From there on to Third Beach the trail is great, no mud holes and predictable footing.

Third beach to the Taylor Point ladder is about .5 miles and had no surprises, just lots of sand and beautiful views of the ocean and Giant's Graveyard to the south. The ladder to the overland trail around Taylor Point is in good condition and quite passable. Light weight leather gloves will protect your hands if they are soft as the ropes are quite rough. The rest of the overland trail is(2.4 miles) pretty wet with quite a bit of mud. Waterproof leather boots are a must and gators are even better to keep everything out of your boots.

Taylor point to Scotts Bluff had nothing to report, clear beach with no obstructions.

We didn't make the tide to get around Scotts Bluff and ended up going on the overland. There are no ladders at Scotts Bluff only some long muddy ropes going up the steep muddy hillside. Gloves here will again save your hands. The trail over Scotts Bluff is also quite wet with a fair bit of mud.

From the south side of Scotts Bluff to Toleak Point the hiking is great with more sand than usual. The beach to the north of Toleak was better suited to campsites than I've ever seen it and to that point had the bulk of campers over the weekend. There was plenty of driftwood for campfires and the muscles have lots of promise for mid-summer low tide harvesting.

As always, your best water sources are at Third Beach, Taylor Point and just south of Toleak Point. Bring a filter or steri-pen.

Green Trails map La Push, WA-NO 163s

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