07/02/12 - Murdock Beach

We heard about Murdock Beach a while ago. Apparently, it's popular with rock collectors. At low tide there are supposedly lots of agates. At high tide there isn't very much beach. We went at a middling tide, and there was a fair bit of beach, but it was also raining, so we didn't get far.

The trailhead is a bit tricky to find. You have to take 112 west past Joyce and look for the 45 mile marker on the left and Cannon Ball Road on the right. Then watch for a long guard rail. Right at the end of the guard rail is the turn off for Murdock Beach. The access road is a bit of a washboard and some of the potholes are deeper than they look, so drive slowly and carefully.

There's a little parking lot there and a pretty trail to the beach. The DNR land runs about 4,000 feet to the east and over four miles to the west, so, at low tide, there is lots of beach to explore. (Note, you'll need a Discover Pass if you go exploring there. We didn't see anyone enforcing things, though a Border Patrol SUV dropped by to see if anything interesting was coming in from Canada.)

The coastal forest

More lush forest

The beach seen from the forest

The beach

The forest seen from the beach - the green wall

The beach to the east

The beach to the west

Driftwood

Forest

Keywords: other parks and forest, washington state