The switchback path down the cliff face tests your knees, each turn revealing more of the cove below—first the white curve of foam where waves meet rocks, then the remarkable green-blue water that pools in the sheltered inlet. By the time your feet touch sand, you've descended through layers of compressed mudstone, each stratum a page in the region's sedimentary record. The beach itself is a mix of fine gray sand and rounded stones that click and tumble with each retreating wave.
“The sedimentary cliffs create a geological exhibition hall wrapped around a swimming cove, where you can trace millions of years while floating in bathwater-warm shallows.”
Credit: UnsplashWhite cliffs over a desert beach
Wade in and the water's clarity startles—you can observe hermit crabs scuttling across submerged boulders, their shells casting shadows on the rock faces. The cliffs embrace the cove in a protective arc, blocking northern winds and creating a microclimate several degrees warmer than exposed beaches nearby. Seabirds nest in the cliff hollows, and you'll hear their calls echo off the stone walls throughout the day.
Evening transforms the cove into a natural amphitheater for sunset, the cliffs glowing amber as the sun drops toward the horizon. The water takes on deeper emerald tones, and the temperature differential between sun-warmed shallows and cooler depths becomes tangible as you float. Most visitors have already made the climb back to the parking area by this hour, leaving you in the company of patient anglers casting lines from the rocks.
