Secret Beach Hides Away Its Beauty

David pauses on the trail to Secret Beach. Photo credit: Rose Muenker

The map of the Samuel H Boardman State Scenic Corridor shows Secret Beach as a point of interest, but on our excursions we’ve never seen a sign bearing its name. Today we made it our mission to find the place. We were right — there’s no sign. But we did see several vehicles parked off the road in a small dirt area, a sure sign that something worthwhile was nearby.

Once we squeezed in alongside the cars, we noticed a trailhead sign. A small metal plaque showed a segment of the coast with a red dot marking Secret Beach. Aha! This was the access trail!

The trail to Secret Beach leads through an emerald forest. Photo credit: Rose Muenker

A steep, wet dirt path led down into an emerald forest of ferns and towering evergreens. Along the way, a hidden waterfall serenaded us. And then the view opened up to a secluded cove with huge rocks offshore — some with arches. Miner’s Creek cascaded into the ocean.

This beach is not secret to those in the know. A bevey of teenagers were on the beach and romping in the surf. High tide had just peaked. Unlike me, the teens were conditioned to the chilly Pacific water and an air temperature in the 60s.

The uphill climb back to the road rewarded me with lovely flowers, like this wild iris, and intriguing types of moss.

A wild iris beautifies the trail to Secret Beach. Photo credit: Rose Muenker

Now that we’ve scouted out Secret Beach’s location, we plan to return another day at low tide and explore tidal pools around the rocks. This spot may even prove to be a good location to harvest mussels!