An icon, the pixelated head of a tyrannosaurus rex Alex Leighton

Rialto Beach

The stormy majesty of the ocean.
2025-10-20 at 14:0
photography

Dark clouds change to blue sky over Rialto Beach. Massive bleached driftwood in the foreground, heavy surf, surrounding misty tree-topped islands.

Panoramic view up the coast of Rialto Beach. Foamy waves pound the shore littered with giant driftwood, framed on the right by mostly dead trees, the misty coast in the center, underneath a slate sky.

Photo of Ki, my tricolor australian shepherd dog, standing on driftwood at Rialto Beach, fur ruffled by the wind, heavy surf with misty islands behind and mostly overcast sky.

Photo of Rialto Beach, foam-covered shore strewn with driftwood, framed by a jagged piece on the left, a gull mid-flight above misty tree-topped islands, under pale gray clouds.

A very dramatic morning at Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park. The wind was up, blowing sea foam onto the beach and the clouds across the sky. I was there somewhere close to high tide, so not much of the beach was available.