Olympic Coast Car Camp

Meet at Noon on Saturday May 20 at the registration board by the restroom at Mora Campground on the Olympic Coast section of Olympic National Park.  To get there take US 101 west through Port Angeles to the junction with SR 110, just before reaching Forks.  Turn right there and right again at the Three Rivers General Store.  Turn left into Mora campground, before reaching Rialto Beach.  Campsite fees of $20 per campsite will be shared.  Campsites will each accommodate two to four people, and more in a few cases.

After setting up camp and having a camp lunch, we will drive the two miles to the Rialto Beach parking lot, where a park pass of some type must be displayed by each car.  We will then hike the full length of Rialto Beach, through the Hole-in-the-Wall, to the next point a half mile beyond it and return by the same route, taking advantage of the low tide that will keep us out of the surf and allow us to avoid going over a headland.  The distance is 4 miles RT and there is no elevation gain.

After returning to the cars, we will drive back to Mora Campground for a camp dinner and smores around the campfire.  Sunday morning we will have a camp breakfast, pack up camp and at 9 AM drive the short distance to the Second Beach trailhead parking lot, where no parking permit is required.  We will hike the well-maintained, easy .75 mile  trail to Second Beach, taking a leisurely stroll to the south end of the two mile long beach and then back to the north end, where at low tide there are a lot of tide pools to explore with a variety of interesting marine life.  Last year we found three otters fishing in one of the tidepools.  We will have a trail lunch on the beach wherever we are at lunch time.  At around 4:30 PM we will hike out to our cars and head home.  There is 120 feet elevation gain on the hike to and from Second Beach, mostly on the way out.  The total distance of this hike is 4.2 miles.   During the drive home there will be an optional meal stop at the Three Rivers Cafe, at the junction with the road to Rialto Beach. 

There are restrooms at Mora Campground and the Rialto Beach Trailhead.  There are outhouses at the Second Beach trailhead and at the beach.  This is a great car camp for families with young children.