Scenic Beach … the beach

July, 2020

Let me tell you, Scenic Beach State Park isn’t called Scenic Beach for no reason. It has a gorgeous gravel beach, easy to walk on, perfect for exploring.

Some years ago, the State of Washington purchased a sizable chunk of land immediately adjacent to the campground here. That sizable chunk of land was coupled with the campground, and the whole thing became Scenic Beach State Park. On this additional chunk of land was an old house, the Emel House, built in 1912. The house is still there today. It’s used for retreats and weddings and other events, that sort of thing. [Rental info is here.]

What’s truly wonderful about this land (and the house) is that it is right smack dab on the bluff that overlooks Hood Canal. The back porch of this house has a front row view of the beach, Hood Canal, the Olympic Mountains, and every gorgeous western sunset you can imagine. I could live in that house! And … the State of Washington not only got the land and the house … it also got title to the beach! All of it, the land and the house and the beach, are now part of Scenic Beach State Park.

Let’s take a quick look at the house. It’s a warm summer morning, perfect for exploring.

The Emel House property is open to the public, although the doors to the house are locked unless you’ve rented the house for the day. When I was here this particular morning, there wasn’t another soul in sight … just the breeze and the trees and the birds and the bees.

 

Above, the “back” door, since it’s at the back of the house, not on the road side of the house. Actually this door opens directly into the living room inside the house. Outside the house, the door opens onto this long, wide, covered back porch of Emel House.

Above, the view from the back porch out to the west … the beach below, Hood Canal, the Olympic Mountains, and a gorgeous sunset if this had been evening instead of morning.

Had there been a chair on that back porch, I might have just sat down and stayed forever. Ahh, but there wasn’t a chair in sight. Ok, then, let’s get down to the beach … which way to go?

Downhill I bet. 🙂

And through the woods.

The path down to the beach was not steep, just a very slight incline. And it took only about 5 minutes to meander down it, including pauses to take photos.

Just before dropping down onto the beach, the path diverged. One path (the old one) led to some dirt stair steps, nicely maintained. The other path led to a set of concrete stairs with very sturdy metal railings and a separate concrete ramp also with railings meant for use by anyone using a wheelchair or a walker or who might be wheeling a child in a pram or wheeling picnic supplies down to the beach, etc.

Above, looking over at the dirt stair steps. Photo taken while I was standing on the concrete ramp that led gently down to the beach.

Once down on the beach, there was lots to see.

The bluff here wasn’t very high, 8-10 feet or so. It was full of the usual Pacific Northwest plant life, including blackberries.

I wondered why these blackberries along the beach were still so green, when other blackberries that I had seen on this trip were ripe, or at least very close to ripe. This beach faced west, so I thought the warm western sun would make these blackberries ripen sooner, not later. Maybe the proximity of the water in Hood Canal keeps the air cooler here, or saltier … who might know why these blackberries are so far behind the others that are even just a tad bit inland?

High tides and wind eat away at the bluff. Eventually, trees fall onto the beach, tree roots are exposed.

Ah, but look in the photo above … do you see it? An octopus for sure!! yikes! Over there on the left!

 

How scary is that … I turned around and went the other way! Whew!

What a beautiful beach, a beautiful warm day, a beautiful view.

I walked for about 45 minutes up the beach. There were only two other people on the beach that whole time … and three dogs.

Helping her dog look for treasures under the rocks.

Then I turned around and headed back towards the access path, simply wandering back down the beach and enjoying the smells and the breeze and the sounds.

More Olympic Mountains to the southwest.

These tree trunks and logs didn’t stop me! I just scrambled over them or found a way around them.

The photo below is a close-up of one small portion of the Olympic Mountains. It’s the mountain peak (or series of peaks) over on the left in the photo above.

I’m already thinking about coming back here in the winter, when these peaks are coated in snow and ice and glisten in the morning sunshine.

But … that’s a thought for another day. Now it’s time to head back up the path through the woods, then into the parking lot where the big white truck is waiting to take me back to the trailer for a bite of lunch.

 

The big white truck is always waiting patiently, happy to take me anywhere I want to go.