Ed and Margaux are great! If you're looking for a way to see Gig Harbor, enjoy some quiet time…read morewith friends, learn a little about the history of the harbor, or just cruise to see the holiday lights Cruise Gig Harbor has you covered. Everyone we've taken on a cruise with Ed and Margaux have raved about the experience. One note: The cruise slots can book up fast so make a reservation in advance - especially for holidays! The Duffy Boat is all electric and super quiet so talking with your friends is very easy. You even bring drinks and food or get a package from Ed. Ed's knowledge of the area is a bonus on the cruise.

I took my Harbor Nook Retreat (reader's retreat) group on Ed's cruise last weekend and it was even…read morebetter than I'd hoped! Communication ahead of time was excellent and the actual tour was one of the best experiences of the weekend. Ed was funny, knowledgeable, and made all of my attendees fall in love with Gig Harbor! I'll now offer it as an add-on to my retreats. Ed, Margaux, and Cruise Gig Harbor are the best!

The Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is incredible! The best $3 (cash deposit) I…read morehave ever spent! Over 3 hrs of birdwatching, deer sighting, eagle watching, heron mating dances, moss, frogs, snakes, and more. The brackish water and estuary allow for diverse life cycles across fresh to salty habitats. The boardwalk is well maintained, gravel moving into wooden slits. Incredible! Highly recommend. Big parking lot, fairly busy on a Monday in March.

Put your walking shoes on because this was a great (and long) walk! The views are amazing.read more

Eagle Island State Marine Park is an excellent little kayaking adventure that only takes a couple…read morehours. It is a gorgeous location, just off Anderson Island, with views of the Olympic Mountains, McNeil Island ("Alcatraz of the Northwest!), and the Key Peninsula. This little island is uninhabited. Nice beaches, jillions of seabirds, seals with their pups, and a short wooded trail to explore. To get their, take the Anderson Island Ferry from Steilacoom, just south of Tacoma. Drive to the old boat launch at the north end of Anderson Island. It's a short paddle there. It was an easy paddle out to and around the entire island. Lots of fun! Here's a great aerial/action video of the island. https://youtu.be/hA6BcJmaqGM Check out this video on Anderson Island https://youtu.be/SzqhN0pg_1Y Learn more about Anderson Island - http://andersonisland.org/

We didn't stay here, we just drove through and checked it out for future reference…read more There are campsites and there's room for RV's. It's near the Skokomish River. Dense trees and seemed really cozy. Will be back!

Organized, clean, and such a welcoming space! Lots of nearby hiking and a gorgeous lake you can…read moredrive or walk to, as desired. There are also rangers available during regular business hours to provide information and resources. Hope to come back soon!

I asked Kathy, who is the owner and operator, some questions about scheduling a visit. Basically my…read moreconcern was that during the warmer parts of the summer, she does not allow single men on her property, because the majority of the available days are reserved for couples. I am a single bachelor and have been for nearly all my life. I am also straight. I am also a senior citizen. Apparently it is assumed that single men are a risk of some sort. I'm 68 - what possible risk do I pose that a coupled man, unhappy with his partner, would more likely pose? I told her it felt like discrimination, and did not seem fair. I guess she gets around any illegal discrimination laws by being a membership club. Kathy would not work with me on the issue. She passive-aggressively refused to respond with any discussion. Apparently she does not like men.

WARNING: Adult-oriented review to follow…read more Arcadia Resort is a beautiful four-acre nudist paradise. Owned by Kathy and run with help from a friend or two, romance is in the air and bare-skin comfort is the name of the game. No children are allowed. The entire property is surrounded by an 8-ft privacy fence with an electric gate at the entrance for security and privacy of the neighbors and the resort guests alike. Lodgings are simple and modest but Kathy has made an effort to make them comfortable and romantic. We stayed in what is probably the most convenient and largest lodging space, with a king-size sleigh bed upstairs and a living room, eat-in kitchen, and full-bath, and sliding glass doors to the main lounging lawn. The grounds include plenty of carefully mown grass with lushly planted gardens and beautiful nude statuary. Fountains grace several strategic areas. A sports court, horseshoe pits, a small trout pond, a hammock, and a ping-pong table round out the non-water recreation. The resort also has a smallish above-ground pool (with a solar heating system so it's not icy) and a very large 10-person hot tub that's in a communal room with a stereo and a karaoke set up. There's a shared picnic area and a gas grill that's open for everyone's use, a firepit with wood, and plenty of lounge chairs and cushions. In addition to the five or six lodging units, Kathy allows a few RVers and tent campers, and a limited amount of day use. It's a private resort and you will pay an annual membership fee if you'd like to come back after your initial visit... that lets them set their own rules and not have too much trouble with weirdoes. Though it depends on your definition of weirdo! We were roundly (but accidentally) condemned as "Seattle liberals" during a hot tub session where people were discussing their support for the war in Iraq and who in their family or friends were currently over there. I'm glad that I wasn't right there to hear that because I would have left the hot tub! On the whole, though, people are friendly, just more conservative and slightly older than I expected; I figured most people would be like us, mid 30s to mid-40s, and I would say that the average was 10 years older than that. We plan on going back with a group of "Seattle liberals" so we'll be a bit more comfortable politically -- message me if you want to try it out. There are theme weekends, and last weekend, was the monthly (2nd weekend) Sex on the Grass theme, where couples are allowed to do whatever they like, whenever they like, I suppose within reason (or at least, by consent of all parties!) It was wonderful to make love on a blanket outside under the stars (and it was truly fantastic that it was warm enough for me to want to!) and the next day, various couples including us tucked themselves away into secluded corners or did what they liked right out on the lawn. It was great. It's not for the timid, though; voyeurs and exhibitionists will have an especially good time. If this sort of thing is NOT for you, the other three weekends are no-sex-in-shared-spaces so you won't be offended. Most but not all couples seemed to be straight and there were more piercings than you'd expect of a crowd that age. We will definitely go back to see if the conservatism was a fluke for that one weekend. It was great to be free of kids, clothes, and major responsibilities. I haven't felt so unrestricted in years, if ever.

Lovely and quiet. NOT accessible. You cannot drive to where you can see, let alone dabble your feet…read morein, the water. You can not drive to a restroom. The road going in is too steep for a wheelchair or a scooter. There is 1 picnic table at the parking lot, but no water, restroom, or garbage can. I was so disappointed that I couldn't access the water. The website didn't mention lack of access.

Frye Cove County Park is on the Eld Inlet, which is close to Olympia as the bird flies, but driving…read morethere gives you the feeling of seclusion. There is one main road, Steamboat Island Road, heading up the peninsula that has consistent traffic, but not so much to think that you are actually close to the state capital. Leaving Steamboat Road, you head deeper into this forest. Frye Cove lies at the end of one of these roads. There were an assortment of smaller trails at the park that ran along the water. We did see one fisherman there, a fly fisherman, and I was going to ask him if he was having any luck but I noticed that he was trying to finagle his fly out of a tree. This didn't seem like the ideal time to ask him if he was having any success, so we kept walking. My inclination was confirmed in the parking lot. He didn't have any success. Except for the truly knowledgeable fly fishermen, flyfishing is more of a way to appreciate nature's beauty rather than to reel in big fish.

A beautiful promenade running along the water. Gates are closed until it opens at 9am on most days…read more It is a slow and long journey from the entrance down to the beach. The beach is pretty quaint and there are logs strew about. While I was there around opening, I did not see the orcas but they were spotted there by the beach the next day. There is plenty of parking but large speed bumps as you go through. The bathrooms were single stalls and relatively clean. Would be very easy to drop in a paddle-board or kayak, although there is no dock. We were passed by mom and two baby deer in very close proximity while we visited.

What a great and fun beach. It's very clean and appealing to the eye…read more There is a bit of a drive to get to the beach but there is plenty of parking available. Although you may not be able to get anything close to the beach. There is a nice "boardwalk" to walk or bike along and offers a scenic view. The beach area is a decent size and can accommodate many families but be warned that it is rocky and pebbly. There was a private event happening in a building there. They also had several bathrooms. A cute little cafe and a place to rent kayaks. It was just a nice vibe. If you didn't want to sit on the beach area there were plenty of benches to just sit and enjoy the view as well.

***Patented pre-review tips: The parking lot is very small, and a Discovery Pass is required. No…read morebikes allowed on the trail, but there is a covered rack to store them. NO DOGS, EVEN ON LEASH, allowed. Don't know if that includes service dogs, but the point is to keep wildlife from being disturbed. The trail from parking lot to the bay is paved, but the one mile loop trail isn't.*** This is a great, short, low-intensity walk in nature. It was formerly a railroad terminus where trains would dump their loads of logs into the bay to be taken by boat up north. There are still some tracks and lots of historical placards telling about this, and there are more placards about the many kinds of wildlife in the area. The paved trail and maintained spur are both fairly low elevation and provide views of the water as well as surrounding woods. All-in-all a great short nature walk close to Olympia and Lacey!

Love this place. Seal breeding ground in the summer and and amazing mushroom and slug trail…read more There are two ways to get to the end of the trail. The paved trail is about a 1/2 mile and is a very easy walk. Dogs and bikes are not allowed on these trails. The second trail is approximately 1.6 miles long and weaves along the inlet. This is a mild hike, but it is more difficult than the paved trail (not for strollers).