Forks/ Beach 4/ Kalaloch Beach

I’m so excited for this day; we basically built our entire route around the only availability to stay in the Kalaloch Beach campgrounds (advice: book your ONP campsites as early as possible!). We get started on our day after having a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon prepared on the propane stove. The goal is to reach the Pacific coast early so we have plenty of time to make it to the beach just before low tide to see the tide pools.

On the way, we pass through the town of Forks, the setting of the Twilight books. I see a storefront or two full of Twilight merch and multiple Trump MAGA signs. For the Twihards out there, two versions of Bella’s truck (book version and movie version) are parked in front of the Forks visitors’ center.

Rain pelts us as we reach the coast. The first glimpses of the Pacific Ocean through the trees are slate gray, nearly indistinguishable from the cloudy skies. At the Kalaloch ranger station, the ranger on duty recommends either Ruby Beach or Beach 4 for tide pools, with the latter being less crowded, so we park at the Beach 4 trailhead and put on our rain jackets. 

There’s a mist hanging over the beach which makes the tall shoreline pines and rock formations look like distant ghosts. I love it. Moody misty ocean fog appeals to my Scandinavian side. Sunshine is overrated; gimme some melancholy atmosphere. Kurt and I walk across the rocky shore to join other visitors exploring the tide pools. I climb carefully over the barnacle-covered rocks, peering into entire ecosystems flourishing in hidden nooks of the rocks. It smells like saltwater, fish, and seaweed, and I wish I could somehow bottle it up and bring it home. As we explore and find starfish, crabs, and sea anemones, the light rain stops and the sun peeps out. I take off my rain jacket, then my fleece; it becomes a warm, bright day. I spot two bald eagles gliding slow and lazy by the tree line; one of them flies in low and it’s maybe the closest I’ve ever seen one in flight.

From Beach 4, we head down the road to Kalaloch Beach, where our campground is located. Our camper van associate told us this was her favorite camping spot, and upon arrival, I understand why. The outermost loop of sites look out onto a cliff with a panoramic view of the ocean. Below on the dog-friendly beach, people play with their dogs in the sand. From the campground, there’s a short inclined path straight to the beach. It deposits us onto the sand not far from the Tree of Life, or Tree Root Cave, a popular spot on Kalaloch. An ancient Sitka Spruce hangs between a gap in the cliff nearly in midair, its roots exposed after erosion washed the soil away, and somehow manages to continue thriving. It’s a living metaphor, a miracle of nature, an Instagram moment, all of the above. We watch a large family swarm around the cave, multiple kids dangling from the spruce’s exposed roots, and two adults climb up the trunk all the way into the branches as I wince (the Park system discourages visitors from hanging onto the delicate roots, given the tree’s fragility). The more I travel, the more I am struck by the difference in people who see the world as their personal property or jungle gym, vs. those who lead with respect and err on the side of preservation.

It’s turned into a gorgeous sunny day, so Kurt and I bring our lunch down to the beach. We spend the afternoon walking along the water looking for sand dollars and wading shin-deep. There’s a few brave souls full-on swimming in the cold water. Further down the beach, the shore turns into what Kurt calls a mass crab graveyard, the sand covered in thousands of pieces of washed-up crab legs and shells. 

At sunset, we return to the beach to watch the sun disappear into the Pacific Ocean. A small crowd has gathered, some of them camped out on chairs. I’m grateful for the clear sky and the amazing view. I think about the other sunsets we watched earlier this year in two other National Parks, Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon, and reflect on how grateful I am to have accumulated these experiences. I just want to sit in this moment and enjoy it before it slips away as all moments do.