Even though we used Google Maps, we still got a bit lost trying to find this spot. I think we ended…read moreup adding 30 minutes to our driving time because we had to make a bunch of U-turns. Anywho, eventually, we found this spot, and it was exactly how my aunt and uncle described it. Lots of nature and walking paths, and gorgeous views of the water. The campgrounds are also sizeable, and there were plenty of campers and families hanging out and enjoying the sunshine. There's also a little amphitheater area made of tree stumps and wooden benches with a wooden stage. I think you have a reserve that area if you wanna use it, though. This place is chill and great for passing the time (maybe like 2 hours or so if you meander through all of the walking trails). Also, it's pet-friendly.

Top notch camping site. In wet weather, the conditions can be a little marshy, but theres tent…read morecamping down the hill a bit that appears to be nice. It rained the whole weekend we were here but the host was pleasant and friendly, the people there definitely maintain the park beautifully, and the ranger came by several times which made us feel remotely safe. Plenty of fun in the area for boating and swimming, two spots for RV/Travel Trailer camping. It's a serene and beautiful site that was more than adequate for a weekend away. If you're looking for just a night or several weeks, this campground is well maintained with beautiful views, and friendly and hardworking staff members. Truly a gem.

Gorgeous camping spot. The campsites themselves are clean and well maintained. The restroom was…read morekept clean and stocked. The restroom nearest to us had a shower which was lovely. The line could be long in the morning, but if you showered at night, it was generally pretty easy going. The park is nice and clean with a decent amount of parking but does get very busy on a sunny weekend in the summer. Great spot for kayaking, especially as a beginner. I didn't go past the inlet as it was my first time on the water, but I had a great time paddling around. I already booked my site for next year!

We did a day trip to just the beach area. The restrooms are kept pretty clean for a park area and…read morethey empty the trash regularly. The park rangers regularly patrol and are super friendly. It wasn't overly crowded especially for a weekday. The pup loved all the space to roam about.

Sequalitchew Creek is a pet friendly and an ideal easy stroll for families. It is a total of 3…read moremiles round trip. Half a mile of it is paved and the remaining mile is rock path. Decline going there and incline on the reverse. You'll see beautiful views of the puget sound at the end. Most of the trail is surrounded by trees. If you decide to go there to watch the sunset, you'll have to use your cell phone flashlight. There is no lighting on the path. Respect the aina (land, earth, environment) and take your trash back with you since there are no trash cans.

Beautiful hiking trail that is only 3 miles in total - out and back with great views of the Puget…read moreSound. Plenty of free parking available and restrooms on site. I would recommend if you are looking for an easy hike. My kids and I enjoyed this trail a lot plus it wasn't crowded at all on a weekday!

Last time I visited was in the summer when the water had really receded. It was lovely, but dry…read more This current visit was in the winter so the tide was high. We walked down to the beach and my niece had a fun time scooping up sea life from the sand and she found things like baby crab legs and shellfish so we got to talk about what was in the water. People were kinda standing around or taking pictures since Mt. Rainier is in the distance, since there's nowhere to sit to relax. There are lots of signs telling you to respect private property, so I imagine the residents get frustrated when people wander over the line, but that's what you get if your property is right next to a state park. The path over was nice, with netting on slippery spots and there are a couple of Pokemon Gyms and Pokestops so its a pretty good place to play. Just be mindful that they require you to carry your trash out of the park with you, so there's nowhere to leave your dog poop bags if your pup does his business. We obediently took our stuff with us, but I wonder how many people don't honor the request.

Belted Kingfisher, Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher! And so my…read morebirding went when I visited Tolmie State Park the morning of the 25th of June 2020. I arrived in the 9:00 a.m. hour and parked at the upper parking lot by the entrance to the park. There is a second parking lot further down the road once inside the park that is closer to the beach. By the upper parking lot there is a restroom building, covered picnic area, and abundant picnic tables with grills interspersed in the woods. There is also an area with benches facing the water in an amphitheater-esque seating style. In my exploring this area I found some cool plants including foxglove plants with cusped blossoms. A Goldfinch flitted across my path and made a getaway before I could get a picture of it. Fun to see the state bird in a state park! Making my way down the trail to the beach was quiet, and I was pleased to see that it was high tide when I arrived at the waterfront. Walking along the waterfront I notice what looked like a Kingfisher so I decided to approach and see if it was. Indeed it was! Slowly I waded out in the water along a muddy part and realized the mud was teeming with crabs. I was careful to watch where I stepped so as not to smoosh any of them. Once I reached the Kingfisher (a Belted Kingfisher specifically) it flew off across the spit of land I came across to get to it. I watched where it landed on a tree branch and then followed the Belted Kingfisher. The Belted Kingfisher was along the creek that flows to the Puget Sound at high tide, at low tide the creek dissipates. Another Belted Kingfisher arrived and they both started diving in the water for fish and other food. Turning my head left I noticed a Heron in the water and waded back out in the water to join it. After wading around with the Heron for a while I made my way back towards where the first Belted Kingfisher had perched to watch for food in the water. The tide was going out as I was wading with the Heron and making my way to the perch. The crabs were not happy about this. The ground glistened with movement, not sunlight, and there were 100s to 1000s of tiny crabs running to take shelter under the seaweed, in the mud, and yes trying to pinch my feet and legs. As I neared some crabs they would burrow backwards into the mud, put their pinchers up, and open them... I was careful not to step there. Eventually I made it back to the Belted Kingfisher perch and what did I find?! Not one, but two Belted Kingfishers watching the water!! So very cool. After admiring them for a little bit I started making my way back to my car. The beach and the parking lot by the beach were starting to get busy, so it was my time to go. A perfect morning adventure in the Puget Sound area.

This is a nice little spot to view the Arletta-Hale passage between Fox Island and the mainland…read more The sand spit also offers a place to watch for whale where they've been previously sighted (not on land, but at sea. Only one or two whale could fit on the spit at the same time). Like islanders of other varieties, some of the locals here are ultra-protective of this piece of "their" real estate, and outsiders are not welcome. The website and FAQ regarding this place come laden with more dire warnings than actual descriptions of the park, complete with a long list of "do not...or else's..." Part of what the locals "do not" want you to do is know about clay babies, an extremely unique geological phenomenon that is neither rock nor baby, but looks like a little voodoo doll or ginger bread man made by the earth, and found only a tiny handful of places in the world--including here. The locals may also not want you to know that Fox Island, and this portion of it, is one of the best (and only) places in the Tacoma metro area for safe shellfish harvesting (according to the online WA DNR interactive shell fishing map), and the beach is crusted over with a carpet of oysters, cockles, manila and butter clams, and geoducks--all of which seen to reach titanic sizes here, judging by the shells seen at low tides. The clams were so numerous and joyful, they were squirting and putting on such shoes that my fiancee likened it to the Bellahio fountains in Las Vegas. I pictured Beethoven's 9th playing as each one spurted higher into the air. And speaking of tides, their proximity to the high tide mark makes the park a great place to view these attractions, since you do not require a minus tide to see a vast array of salty critters here (even a .5 tide will reveal much). Seeing scuttling crabs, tiny anemones, barnacle skyscrapers, many species of clam, sea boogers, and other tiny, sticky things that cling to other tiny, sticky things--as well as funky chunkies, clay babes, muck suckers, and mud bumps only adds to one's sense of awe and wonder regarding the resplendent natural universe. Seeing these tiny sand travelers reminds us how little humans are, and what small a part human nature plays when immersed in the vast firmament of time. Here is a song about what not to do: If you're alive, do not breathe, and if you're here you need to leave Don't pick babes out of the clay But picking nits is quite okay If you park your car they'll hem and haw If your pup is loose they'll smack your paw. They'll stare at you with folded arms Pray they don't hit five alarms. Fear Fox Island Citizen Patrol And the disapproving eyes that roll While watching whales they're watching you You don't belong you best begone, their view Do not stop, do not get out Or risk a frown on pouty snouts

Such a fun sandspit park! We went during low tide and we're excited to see jellyfish, plenty of…read moretiny crabs, and several starfish! The clams were spitting up through the sand which was fun. Very beautiful place.

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/

Follow the main roads through the island and you end up here at the fishing pier. Good amount of…read moreparking with stairs and a wheelchair ramp to get you down to the pier. Beach access available, follow the sign. Great view of the surrounding area!! Fox Island really doesn't have anything unless you're visiting someone, but either way it's a lovely place.

Nice pier. Great place to view Orcas, porpoises, and eagles. Sometimes there's decent dogfish shark…read morefishing.

Harstine Island State Park is a large, forested state park that borders the Puget Sound. My wife…read moreand I ventured on one of the trails with the hope of finding the Puget Sound and potentially a fishing spot. The trail appeared to be much longer than anticipated to reach the water or we had simply walked down the wrong path. I have ventured down a number of these paths with a fishing rod in hand only to find no viable fishing spot along the route, but that is the definition of exploring, you will not know until you try. There was a warning sign of a cougar sighting in the area at the trailhead. This was the first of many postings about cougars that we saw at future trailheads. Each warning sign generally has a picture of a cougar, the last time it was seen in the area, and defensive strategies if you ever encountered one. One would think that bear spray would be the easiest line of defense, but we haven't seen that referenced in the postings, probably because most hikers don't carry it. I haven't seen a wild cougar yet, and I don't think I will unless a cougar, a master stealth hunter, sees me first and wants to show his face.

This hardly seems like a park at all and more a long primitive road with entrances to trail ways at…read morecertain points. Not only is the road you're driving on treacherous, but so are the trails. I'm not complaining because I like the trails to be a bit more "off the beaten path" ish so it actually feels like you're hiking in the middle of the forest. Luckily the ground was a bit wet to keep the gravel somewhat stationary and not flying up and shooting pebbles all over the place. I didn't go too far into the park as I had just walked around Jarrell Cove Park. I'll leave this at 3 stars for now as I didn't get the full experience, or maybe I did and didn't notice it.

Great park with trails through second-growth woods, a tiny bit of elevation change, picnic…read moreshelters, a flower garden, a beach, and most importantly, toilets. Love going here with the family for a bit of fresh air and some rock hunting.

A beautiful park and a must see in the Olympia area. I've come here since childhood. Excellent…read moretrails and views of the Puget Sound.

Never met a park I didn't think was 5* and the recently renovated Kopachuck SP delivers. New lodge,…read moretrails, and renovated access. I heard the campgrounds were eliminated in the renovation. Just another 5* park in Washington.

Came with my 3 year old to see the new play area and it was a hit…read more Arrived at about 11:15 am (Sunday) and there was a little line to get in, but we had a discover pass so we went ahead and parked. The lot wasn't full and there was plenty of space but there were a lot of people too. I wanted to walk around but my kid really loved the play at kids area so we'll be back for more exploring next time.