LOCAL BEACHES
The beaches become rockier as you go north of Kalaloch. As the tide lowers, it exposes nice walking sand and access to tide pools with a variety of wildlife - summer is better than the middle of winter for viewing tide pools!
Most all the beaches along the Pacific Ocean side of the Olympic Peninsula have an abundance of bleached driftwood ranging from small pieces to whole trees with intricate root wads. This driftwood comes from river valleys, usually during the winters when the flooding rivers eat away at the river banks and trees fall in. They are carried out to sea where the often lose their bark and are eventually deposited onto the shore during storms. High surf can move driftwood and these logs become dangerous when the surf is under them. Driftwood can also be extremely slippery when wet.
You can build campfires on the beach but must only use driftwood.
Dogs have to be kept on a leash at all times. They are only allowed on the beaches from Ruby Beach south to South Beach and on Rialto Beach.
The Local Tide Tables site and Tide Information from NOAA will both let you know when the high and low tides are.
Destruction Island is the island you can see to the southwest from Ruby Beach. Ruby Beach is a bit closer to Destruction Island than La Push should you be looking at the 'Local Tide Tables Site' which offers both Destruction Island and La Push. NOAA only has the La Push tides.
RUBY BEACH
It takes about 12 minutes to drive the 10.9 miles to the Ruby Beach parking lot from the Hoh River Resort. The National Park Service provides and maintains restrooms by the parking lot. The well kept trail is a bit steep in places as it goes down to the beach through the woods but well worth it. There are good places to take photos of the beach and ocean from the trail to the beach.
Ruby Beach is a local favorite because of its beauty and spectacular scenery. It's also a great place for a picnic. Cedar Creek flows into Ruby Beach and even though the water is chilly, kids have fun wading and using driftwood as makeshift boats.
OTHER BEACHES SOUTH
A short ways farther south you will find beach 6 which is unmarked and has no bathroom facilities but a large parking lot. Beach 6 is a favorite for smelt fishing with nets in the surf. You do not need a fishing license to dip nets for smelt. Beach 5 is a trail with little parking right on the highway. The next beach south is Beach 4 and it is well marked with a large parking lot and bathroom facilities year round. Beach 3 is marked off the road where you can't see the sign. No facilities. Kalaloch is sometimes open for clamming. You can check the Washington State Fish and Wildlife for dates of clamming and fishing.
OTHER BEACHES NORTH
At La Push is First Beach where you can watch or participate in surfing and where you can charter a boat to go deep sea fishing. La Push is one of the settings in the Twilight series of books, as is Forks.
Across the Quileute River from La Push is Rialto Beach. This rocky beach used to have a very large parking lot until a winter storm buried half of it with rocks.