I haven’t hiked the Second Beach trail since I was a teenager and I remember thinking it was an easy trail.  I couldn’t remember the distance and found conflicting information online. The WTA has it listed at 4 miles round-trip, which seems a lot longer than my memory. Other places have it at .7 miles out and back, which seems about what I recall.  I checked with my local hiking group on what they felt the distance really was and they said .7-1 mile each way seemed about right, with one steep climb at the end down to the water.  It turned out they were right.  It was about perfect for my 4 year old.

They’ve definitely improved and worked on this trail since I last hiked it and I was so grateful. There were neat little sections like this where the water could pool/flow, but they were easy to step over.

The stair situation was also much better, easy to hike and not slippery or dangerous-feeling.

The tide was in too far to hike all the way to Hole in the Wall, but here’s what it looks like from a distance. A very cool sight with the waves crashing through the hole.

It felt about perfect for my 4 year old, but it would be challenging for a younger child during the last 1/4 mile with the stairs. I would call this a age 4+ or carrier hike.  This was also my little hiker’s 2nd hike with his first pair of hiking boots! I will do a review of them soon because so far they are excellent!