Today we are stopping at the magnificent Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park in the state of Washington. We’re along with all 3 kids and Grandma exploring this popular beach. See what makes Ruby Beach a magical place to visit on the Olympic Coast.
Ruby Beach is our last stop on our drive from downtown Seattle to the city of Forks. To see how we got here, check out all of our stops from Lake Quinault to Kalaloch Beaches in Olympic NP.
Ruby Beach Parking Lot and Trail
Ruby Beach is our last planned stop before we head to Forks. And we arrive about 10 minutes ahead of schedule. But some of us have to use the bathroom, and there’s a line for the vault toilets here. So, we walk over to get in line where our daughter decides to play karate. She continues to karate chop everyone saying “when I teach myself karate, I teach myself all the way!” After about 10 minutes of waiting, taking turns and karate, we still have about an hour to explore the beach.
The trail down to the beach is rockier and steeper than I remember. Drew and I visited Ruby Beach back in January of 2020 with Becky’s brother Kelly. And we’re just now being able to bring the rest of the family. But it’s a little difficult for Grandma, so we help her down the trail. Though about half way down, we get a great view of the beach and Abbey Island in the distance. And almost to the end we get a view of Cedar Creek which dumps into the ocean here. And it only takes us about 5 minutes with Grandma to make it to the beach.
Ruby Beach
At the trail exit, there are driftwood logs everywhere and it is rocky, so we continue to help Grandma. We pass some kids playing in the creek. Though our daughter wants to jump in, we keep going. And after getting around some driftwood we can finally see the beach. This is a popular beach and there are also a lot of people. Though there is plenty of beach to spread out and explore.
Near the mouth of the creek are some sea stacks, or columns of rocks in and around the ocean. And the 1st one is easily accessible right on the beach. What is cool about this one is it has 2 holes at the bottom, and the larger one can be easily walked through.
Closer to the beach it is more sandy and easier to walk. But Grandma decides to wait on a driftwood log, while the kids immediately throw rocks in the surf. But I want to take a walk down the beach to Abbey Island.
Walking down the shoreline we pass more sea stacks in and around the water. I also spot another island in the distance with a lighthouse on it, but haven’t heard anything about it. On the other side we see a cliff with trees on top, and in 15 minutes we get to Abbey Island.
Abbey Island
The iconic rock island can be seen in many images of Ruby Beach. And normally you cannot walk to it. But with the tide going out today, the beach extends all the way to Abbey Island.
Just past Abbey Island, we see the beach continues for another couple miles. This section of the beach is much calmer and actually extends all the way to the Hoh River. And it’s here we all meet-up and decide to explore Abbey Island up-close.
When we walk to Abbey Island, we notice there’s a little cave in the side of it. So, we walk into the cave, but it really doesn’t go far. It just looks like a dead end, though Drew and Matt notice some isopods moving in the cracks. Outside, I also spot some sea anemones on a rock near the cave. It’s our 1st experience tidepooling in Olympic, but we plan to see more tomorrow.
Besides the narrow stretch of beach that goes out to Abbey Island, the rest is surrounded by water. But we are able to walk around to some more rocks around the side that Matt decides to climb. His hiking trail name is Waldo because he tends to wander off and we have to ask, where is Matt? But this time we know where he is and on top of the rocks make for a great photo. After the photo session, we start to head back.
Heading back on Ruby Beach
On the way back, we spot another rock entrance by the shore. And once we enter the hole, we see more rocks we can climb on. It’s our own secret area where we can watch the waves crash in, at least for a little while. Though exploring the rocks and sea stacks are fun, we are careful around the water and the slippery surfaces.
Becky left before us and met back up with Grandma near where we started. Apparently there some random guy offered to help Becky take some pictures. And he got one of them in front of the 1st sea stack we saw when entering the beach. Grandma thought he was hitting on Becky. Who knows, but his picture is just ok. I could’ve done better…
The rest of us make it to the trail to see Grandma and Becky at the spot overlooking Ruby Beach. There is a bench here and everyone takes a seat to rest while we enjoy the view one last time. We can see a lot of people down there still. But if you walk a little ways in either direction you can find a section of the beach to yourself.
We walked over an hour on the beach and could have spent more time here for sure. Overall we spent about 1.5 hours at this stop, and loved it. But now we need to head out to check-in at our rental house in Forks.
Summary
Unlike Kalaloch beaches, what makes Ruby Beach so special are the sea stacks and other interesting features. And the biggest one is Abbey Island, and we were excited to be able to walk to it. Though there were a lot of people on the beach today, the further we walked, the less people we saw. And there are many interesting sea stacks near the shore to explore along the way. Also seeing Abbey Island up-close was special. So check the tides and see the best times to go.
Ruby Beach is definitely a must-stop in Olympic National Park. But tomorrow we’re headed to another special one, Rialto Beach. Make sure to keep tuned for more of our trip to the Olympic Coast and Olympic National Park!