Going Coastal on the Olympic Peninsula


We left Ruby Beach to drive down the coast to our hotel. We kind of got lost .. we had a map that was lacking road names on it. When we finally got back on track we went through a small town called Pacific Beach. I took this photo because I used to live in Pacific Beach in San Diego, CA. Notice the Tsunami warning sign below the city sign.


Our room was like a condo. It had a gas fireplace, a dining area, living room, kitchen, balcony, bedroom with 2 beds and bathroom.


We were totally lucky to get this room. We had only called 1 day in advance. Too bad we got in too late to enjoy all of the amenities.




How stupid do you have to be to need Tsunami Evacuation Route signs that all point inland?


The beach at Ocean Shores.. you can drive on it.



A crab shell.. weird.


For your safety and enjoyment motorized vehicles are prohibited beyond this point. April 15 through the day after Labor Day. By order of: Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.



Barnacles on the sign post.


Crab shell explained. The crabs are washing up and the seagulls are ripping them to pieces.


This made me hungry in a weird way.


Rachelle & Kelly



I wanted to ride Sea Buscuit. Instead I got Sea Anne.



Jeff’s horse is Trigger. This is the first time Jeff went horseback riding.


Kelly’s horse is named Diamond.


Jeff’s horse was really slow.. always last in the pack.



Rachelle & Sea Anne, Jeff & Trigger, Kelly & Diamond.


The day was gray and slightly cool.. but was kind of a nice change.



The view from our table.. eating lunch at the Kalaloch Lodge.


Kalaloch Lodge


Kelly & Jeff at the Kalaloch Lodge

On August 4th we stayed overnight at Linde’s Landing in Ocean Shores, WA. The next morning was very gray as we headed over to explore the beach since we got in too late the night before to see anything. We discovered that the beach was very wide with densely packed sand. And that they allow you to drive cars, trucks, vans, mopeds, ATVs, almost anything on the beach. I was dying to have my Wrangler…. I always dreamed of driving on the beach when I lived in Southern California. On a whim we decided to go horseback riding on the beach.

After horseback riding we drove up to the Kalaloch Lodge and had lunch overlooking the beach. It was still very gray but thankfully it wasn’t raining. After lunch we drove north and inland to the Hoh Rainforest and the sun finally came out. At the rainforest we stopped to see a huge Spruce tree before continuing on to hike some trails. On the way out of the rainforest we saw an entire heard of Roosevelt Elk up close. That afternoon we had plans to go to Neah Bay and Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point in the contiguous U.S., but didn’t have time to drive up and get back in time for the last ferry from Kingston to Edmond. Instead we drove north of Lake Crescent in search of Clearwater Beach Park to watch the sunset by. It was a futile attempt full dumpy, tiny towns and one-laned, mountainous, windy roads that only lead us to the Clearwater Beach RV Park with a private beach. Damn WA maps! We tried to get a view anyway but ran to the car and sped off when the lady in the gigantic pickup truck pulled up.


Map of our driving route

3 thoughts on “Going Coastal on the Olympic Peninsula

  1. Was that the second time you went horseback riding on the beach? Looks like quite a different experience from when we were in Rosarito, Mexico.

  2. yeh, that was my second time horseback riding on the beach. mexico -> sunny, hot, blue water. washington -> gray, cool, not very bluish water. both were really fun though.

  3. I grew up in Ocean Shores, now I live in sunny so cal. Two totally different beach scenes. Haven’t been back in 5 years, but I do have my family and friends that still live there. I guess growing up there you can’t wait to leave. When you do, after awhile you miss the intimacy of a small community. Sounds like you had a good time.

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