The Second Beach trail is a 1.4-mile round-trip walk through coastal old-growth forest of ferns and salal, descending roughly 200 feet to the shore over large driftwood logs. The beach opens to offshore sea stacks known as the Quillayute Needles, a natural rock arch, and tide pools, with eagles, seabirds, and seals frequently visible along this stretch of Olympic's wild Pacific coastline.
Smell that? Salt on the air. The Pacific is just through the trees, and this is the Second Beach trail to reach it, an easy mile and four tenths round trip with about eighty feet to give back on the way down. You start in coastal old-growth forest, walking a path lined with sword ferns and glossy salal, the canopy high overhead. Then the trail drops a couple hundred feet to the shore, and you pick your way over and around the great silver driftwood logs piled at the forest's edge, whole trees the surf has flung up here. Step past them and the beach opens wide, with the Quillayute Needles standing offshore, sea stacks dark against the water, and a natural rock arch among them. Down at the waterline you'll find tide pools, and overhead watch for eagles, seabirds, and seals bobbing in the swells. This is the wild Pacific coast at its finest. Park and go feel the sand, or stay buckled in and we'll carry on up the road.
Photo: Ron Clausen · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Second Beach trailhead is the unassuming forest pullout where the walk to one of La Push's most photographed beaches begins. It sits along La Push Road (SR-110) just before town, marked by a small main parking lot, an overflow lot, and a couple of vault toilets. From here the trail ducks straight into dense, mossy old-growth before descending to the shore, so the trailhead is your last chance for the car, a restroom, and a tide check before committing to the beach.
Because the trailhead and road are on the Quileute Reservation rather than inside Olympic National Park, this is also the point where you transition from tribal land onto the park's wilderness coast. Parking is free but limited, the main lot holds only about ten cars, so the overflow lot fills the gap on busy days. Arriving early or midweek, and especially before sunset crowds, makes the difference between an easy start and circling for a space.
- • Location: on La Push Road (SR-110), about 14 miles west of US-101 near Forks, just east of the town of La Push; look for the signed trailhead and parking.
- • Parking: free, but the main lot is small (around 10 cars) with a larger overflow lot just east; both fill up on weekends and at sunset, so come early.
- • Facilities: basic vault/portable toilets at the trailhead; no water, no services, so bring what you need.
- • From here: the trail runs about 0.7 mile each way to the beach, descending roughly 200 feet through forest. Carry a tide table for safe beach exploration.
- • Land status and pets: the trailhead is on Quileute Reservation land (separate from the park); dogs are not allowed on the trail or beach beyond it. An Olympic National Park pass applies to the beach itself.