Third Beach and Taylor Point
8 / 8
We wrapped up our Olympic National Park adventure with the hike to Third Beach and Taylor Point. The trail was 5.7 miles round trip, with about 900 feet of elevation gain thanks to the steep climbs up and down the bluffs. It began with a 1.4-mile walk through lush, mossy forest before descending toward the coast. Along the way, we spotted a Pacific Wren darting through the undergrowth. A little farther on, a Brown Creeper danced through a tangle of branches. Then we came upon a Chestnut-backed Chickadee perched near a nest cavity on a moss-covered tree trunk.
Pacific Wren
1 / 21
After reaching Third Beach, we walked a short stretch along the sand before tackling one of the hike’s most memorable features: a series of steep, makeshift ladders built from steel cables and wooden planks. A rope offered stability, but some sections were fully vertical, turning the hike into a bit of a climb. Once up the bluff, we continued through forested trail until we descended again to the beach at Taylor Point.
We left a group of people at the point and wandered farther until we found a secluded stretch of beach all to ourselves. We set up on a driftwood log and had a picnic, surrounded by sea and solitude. Unlike some of the other beaches we visited, there wasn’t much tide pooling here—just a few scattered rocks protruding at low tide, with hardly any visible sea life. We didn’t mind. The beauty of the beach, the quiet, and the light breeze were more than enough.
On the way back, as we hiked high above the shoreline, Danny spotted a plume of mist far out in the ocean. I zoomed in with my camera just in time to catch a humpback whale surfacing in the distance. It was the perfect final note to end our time in Olympic.
We left a group of people at the point and wandered farther until we found a secluded stretch of beach all to ourselves. We set up on a driftwood log and had a picnic, surrounded by sea and solitude. Unlike some of the other beaches we visited, there wasn’t much tide pooling here—just a few scattered rocks protruding at low tide, with hardly any visible sea life. We didn’t mind. The beauty of the beach, the quiet, and the light breeze were more than enough.
On the way back, as we hiked high above the shoreline, Danny spotted a plume of mist far out in the ocean. I zoomed in with my camera just in time to catch a humpback whale surfacing in the distance. It was the perfect final note to end our time in Olympic.