Third Beach, Scott Creek — Monday, Jun. 29, 2015

Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast

Trail to Third Beach was easy backpacking with children (4yo & 8yo). Crossing driftwood at the end of the trail over to the beach was easy. A stream enters the beach together with the trail, offering a source of fresh water. Four or five other campsites were present on the beach, but it was fairly private other than groups of day hikers passing, or people traveling the stretch to or from Oil City. We could not find any pit toilets. There are no campsites in the woods prior to the trail going over Taylor Point. After setting up camp on Third Beach, we took a day hike over Taylor Point to Scott Creek. This is an extremely challenging trail for kids, with ropes used to climb or rappel very steep sand or clay banks, steps carved into slippery conglomerate, and a few ladders up bans with broken rungs. But nevertheless manageable without a backpack by a 4yo with careful spotting by a parent. There is a pretty nice woods campsite right before the trail from Third Beach descends from Taylor Point towards the beach to the south. It might even have a pit toilet, but I did not explore that far. Lots of salmon berries ripe. A few red huckleberries. Lots of eagles. It seemed to be two parents and three juveniles, sometimes diving into the bay off Third Beach for fish. Beautiful views of Giant's Graveyard and other seastacks. Exposed rocks on Third Beach at low tide completely covered with sea anemones. We saw one starfish. Raccoon tracks in the morning along the beach, but not in the campsite. Bear cans available for borrowing from the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles where you get your backcountry permit. There were no beach fires on this trip because of a park wide burn ban due to forest fire risk. Very sandy beach. Kids enjoyed playing in the sand, making dams for the various fresh-water rivulets or the oncoming tide. Lots of driftwood. Lots of wood available for beach fires if one wanted to build one.