I read each and every trip report for this hike before going, and still managed to be surprised by the "trail" conditions! We had good weather, with just a bit of rain the last day on the way out, but the mud was still present on the two major headland trails. Boot Sucking Mud! I enjoyed mucking around in my waterproof boots and gaiters, and was super glad I didn't try it with my lightweight Solomon boots. I suppose if you took your sweet time, you could avoid going in ankle deep, but I took the ranger's advice to "embrace the mud" rather than skirt the mud pits and further widen the trail. The scenery CANNOT be beat, nor compared to more easily accessible beaches to the south! Sea stacks all along the route, tidepools when the tide's low, eagles, deer, and sea lions were present. It was almost enough to distract you into underestimating the difficulty of hauling your butt plus gear including required Bear Can up the thin cruddy ropes of the Scott's Bluff Headland trail! Almost. Up is BY FAR harder than going down. We bought a DOT guide tide table, which did not exactly match the National Park Service printed tide table. Why? Well, for starters, the National Park page did not reflect Daylight's Savings Time. Not like we don't observe it... The tides were not in the best schedule for exploration, which is why we changed our plans from Rialto to Third Beach as a starting point, so we'd have time to gather water without getting stuck around a headland all day. We went for the last established site on the south side of Toleak Point, up off the beach in a little private bluff by Jackson Creek. I had read online that this was "arguably the best site", but by the time we got there at dusk it looked pretty shabby. Plus there was a huge driftwood logjam to negotiate every time you left the site. There was a rough stickery trail to the "privy" from the campsite, but the main trail went off the beach, past even more driftwood. The "privy" is the worst I've ever seen! There was only one wall to shelter your bum from new arrivals, which is better than the NO WALLS I saw on the way out on the Scott's Creek privy... Plus, the coastal weather has coated the floor boards in slimy residue and privy users MAY feel like they're all the time getting ready to plummetthrough rotted wood into a pit of waste! Well, I did. Anyways, if you choose the Jackson Creek site, you'll be all alone in your own little cove unless people camp on the bach in the driftwood. Tide rises pretty high and washes into the creek, so collect and filter your water at low tide. We bought a collapsable bucket for water collection,and we go back to camp to filter it. It works great and prevents too many trips to the creek. The two major Points, Strawberry and Toleak, were very cool to explore at low tide, we should have stayed another day to really enjoy both places. Strawberry point has a very decorated site right on the point, where the waves converge at tide change then reveal a path to an offshore island/seastack. Then there are sites in the trees from there all the way to Toleak (Toll-e-ak, apparantly) Point. The mid day tide change required an afternoon start time for our hike out, and we didn't get to the trailhead til after dark, totally exhausted! I would rate this as an intermediate difficulty hike, only because of the distance between filterable water and camp sites and those STEEP rope and ladder trails over Taylor Point and Scott's Bluff. The beach walking was easy and scenic and awesome! There were a few downed trees that we had to negotiate at high tide, but when we walked in at low tide, we didn't even notice them as potential obstacles.

Arrived at Third Beach parking lot to learn that a car there had been broken into the night before and a cooler had been stolen from under a truck while hikers were sleeping inside. Permit box at parking lot did not have any more permits in it. Taylor Point headland trail extremely muddy, long stretches of standing water and deep mud on trails but no blowdowns. Giant's ladder that used to be at north side of Taylor Point headwall has been washed away. Both Taylor Point and Scotts Bluff have hiker-hung ropes to help with steep muddy scramble up slopes that require use of hands. Headwall trail markers are very tough to find because they are faded or have washed away. Trail improvements that have been installed, like stairs and giant's ladders, are in disrepair. Pit toilet on North side of Toleak point has been repaired. Eight or more parties camped at Toleak the nights we were there. Plan on taking your time to enjoy the birds in the woods and the tidepools on the coast. Tide tables and the ability to use them is critical for safe passage and enjoyment of this route.

I accompanied Goober Canari, his son Mario, & friend JT on this 3 day hike. We started from Third Beach trailhead & proceeded thru the forest about 1.5 miles to the beach. Beautiful day out. We walked about 1/2 mile along the beach before heading back up on ropes & rope ladders into the woods & up & over Taylor Point. This stretch thru the woods was about 1.5 miles. Portions of the trail are quite muddy. We also noted a lot of floats of all various sizes, shapes, & colors along the beach & sometimes in the woods. Folks have made artwork out of many of them. We returned to the beach for a short stretch & then had to go up & around at Scott's Bluff. Returned to the beach at Scott's Creek. Took break there, cooled off in creek. We also had to go up & over a nameless point of land before continuing about 2 miles on the beach to Toleak Point. We rounded the point & camped along the southern stretch of beach. We were camped not far from a natural arch formation rock. I noted a lot of red paintbrush in bloom along the hillside & on some rocks. We later beachcombed before sunset. Saw several seals near Toleak point, including a white mother & pup. Also saw a couple of sea otters. Sunset was spectacular at Toleak Point. Later at dusk we saw some river otters going out to the ocean. Next morning we discovered which tree the bald eagles were nesting in right above our camp. Again sunny Saturday morning but clouds later moved in. We traveled a short distance down the beach & then inland. We saw a huge cedar tree along the trail. Also on this stretch we had to ford Falls Creek (not too bad) & Goodman Creek where we had to remove boots & socks as it was knee deep. When we returned to the beach it was fairly easy walking to Mosquito Creek. After a crossing of the creek on a unstable log we elected to camp up on the bluff. There are a few designated spots up there. Go to the second larger one if open. There is a table, hammock, several lines, a toilet nearby, & a rope down the steep embankment as a short cut to the beach to the south. The only downside is having to go back down to collect driftwood for the campfire. Our 15 year olds were troopers in getting water & firewood. The next day we continued on thru the forest. Right past our camp was a washout requiring a rope for a short distance. Later the trail became really muddy. Mario had a boot come off in the mud but recovered it. We then came to a larger washout requiring rope down and up. We were barely able to make it up, very slick. Later a couple went by above us on a rough bushwhacked trail. I would recommend using that if you can find it. After 3 plus miles of this trail we came to some steep rope ladders leading back down to Jefferson Beach. We took a short break, then continued on. We rounded Diamond Rock & the large boulder field right at low tide. A bit more beach walking to Hoh River where we saw civilization again across the river. Several guys fishing the river also.

Be prepared for a muddy trek on this hike as well as a couple of decent sized river crossings. Great trip with great group. Also recommend the Forks Coffee Shop/Diner for some good grub afterwards. Good time of year to do this hike as no bugs to speak of. Got lucky w/ weather as there was no rain. :)

A friend was visiting this weekend, and we decided to do a short trip south from the Third Beach trailhead. There sure are a lot of possible names for this trail in the WTA database - I only included a few, and don't which might be "correct" or "incorrect".

The parking lot was surprisingly uncrowded, given the prolonged forecast for great weather. Numerous people were headed for Toleak Point, but we didn't go that far. The hike to Third Beach is nice, and in pretty good shape. We just kept hiking south from there, crossing up and over Taylor Point. The very first part of the climb up from the beach is steep clay, which was fine when dry, but might be pretty difficult when wet. The forest stretch has some pretty wet mudholes, although they seemed to be drying out quickly. Then the drop down to the next beach is in good shape. We had to go over Scott's Bluff both ways, which is again a steep clay surface on the north end. There is no marker for the north end of the trail!! You just have to look for the ropes going up the slope. This is probably a slippery mess when wet. The south end is all forested and brings you right to Scott Creek, where there are a few campsites in the woods, and a few spots on the sand that are fairly high. We camped there, but walked down as far as Strawberry Point (which has nice campsites on either sand or in the very sparse trees).

Most of these beaches seem to be actively eroding, and probably would not be passable at a high tide or high surf. But they are easy walking for the most part. Bringing gloves could be very helpful when using the ropes - a lot of them are pretty abrasive and quite small diameter.

Didn't see much in the way of wildlife, although there were raccoon, fox (?), deer and otter tracks on the sand. Eagles and robins and winter wrens were about it for birds. We did have very bold mice at night and chipmunks in the daytime - be careful with your food!

Not a lot interesting in the way of flowers - Trillia, elderberries, a twinberry, salmonberries, and the last of the swamp lanterns.

It was a really nice, relaxing, lazy trip to enjoy the nice weather and the sound of the surf. And some bouldering. And walking barefoot in the sand.