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    Manitou Beach

    3.5 (2 reviews)

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    Fort Ward Park - beach side

    Fort Ward Park

    4.1(21 reviews)
    4.6 mi

    There are two parking lots to this Park, one at the upper level and one at the lower level…read more I usually drive south from Lynwood Center along Pleasant Beach Drive NE and park at the lower level. Here you directly accesses a put-in for recreational boats and kayaks. The long, flat, paved trail is waterside and goes from the (lower) parking area to the erstwhile army cabins of this U.S. military installation. It is a pleasant waterside walk, which is incredibly hard to find on Bainbridge Island as every inch of it is cordoned off with hostile "Private Beach" signage of the rich who believe they can fortress themselves away... I enjoyed this walk because it was one place on the island to have wide open views (otherwise you are claustrophobic covered in trees). Across the water is a spit of land in Bremerton (the residential part) and further to the western horizons are the Olympic mountains. Periodically the Seattle to Bremerton ferry (or reverse direction) plies the channel closer to the Bremerton side. Then the quiet water channel will see some surging mini-waves. I love watching the seals playing in the water. A remnant set of wood pilings in the water makes for a stunning perch for a gaggle of cormorants...aquatic fowl with elegant necks that are bendy like ballerinas. Bird watching here is superb. I've seen great ducks on the rocks at the sea-kelp and sea-lettuce strewn water's edge. Other than the barnacle rocks on the beach, the main trail of this park is ideal for those with limited mobility. The upper parking lot has a steep trail down to the water, and it is not recommended for people with mobility issues (nor on slippery wet and icy days). All in all one of the best water access points on this otherwise rather tightly locked-away island.

    A fun historical place to hike, or kayak or paddle boarding, beautiful day for all the above (…read moredefinitely need to get a paddle board) shady trails with spectacular views of the mountains, both the Olympic and Cascade, along with peeks of Rainier. Easy fun trails, gave me some time to spend on the rocky beaches, listening to waves and taking in the relaxing smells of ocean salt water on the light breeze. A fun way to explore a little of the many hiking trails on the peninsula. Close enough to the ferry to hear the horns blowing during arrivals and departures. Exploring new adventures! Cheers!

    Photos
    Fort Ward Park - Buttercup are blooming!

    Buttercup are blooming!

    Fort Ward Park - Fall at Fort Ward

    Fall at Fort Ward

    Fort Ward Park - The beach, Sound, and Olympics

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    The beach, Sound, and Olympics

    Grand Forest - Our dog loves this hike!

    Grand Forest

    4.3(20 reviews)
    2.0 mi

    Two enclaves of land preserved from suburban encroachment, which has not spared Bainbridge Island,…read moreare the East and West Grand Forest. Here, trees have grown back from the violent hacking and destruction of ancient groves during the 1870s-1890s Euro-colonizer "frontier" evisceration of life. The island was razed entirely. Not a tree left standing, nor the life they sustained, that emerged from millions of years of earthly intelligence unique to this place, with thousands of years of stewardship by indigenous cultural groups. A mere hundred years ago, Euro-colonizers cared more about production lumber than the glorious trees of the Pacific Northwest and the life they held in balance. Today in the same vein, fortressed mega- mansions of the new rich warn anyone off with "private property" signs around this patch where trees are left standing, ironically referred to as "The Grand Forest." A more apt moniker would be "Hint of what was once a Grand Forest." Still the average public, now confined to the suburban and urban rectilinear hard-surface prison existence would appreciate the respite of being inside the green bower. If you are attuned to communities of trees you will perhaps note that this forest doesn't have "death", or large fallen logs that feed the cycle of life and regenerate other trees with their nutrition. You'll see just a crowded jumble of trees that have regrown having not selected amongst themselves how to thin their shared canopy, allow the light in to nurture other trees, and to fully support an integrated life system. Indeed this forest is metaphorically on life-support itself and even so, it sustains the evapotranspiration that helps keep Bainbridge Island cool while nearby concrete capitalist metropolises bake and swelter. The forest helps retains moisture during the winter which recharges groundwater aquifers that are being sucked dry at a much more rapid rate by all the sad suburban cookie cutter edifices with their sprawling Bermuda Grass lawns. As you walk along the nicely laid out paths, I wish you only the best reveries of a kind, gracious form of life that sustained myriad other life in all directions, which is what the forest will be saying to you. Cross over from the West- to the East-enclave and find the old barn of a rich lady (Prue) who donated her family's property to create a connecting corridor between the two sections. Never mind the busy recreation-chasing groups of mountain bikers and sometimes horse riders. This is a place to reconnect your soul to the signals of the life force that brought you to be, notwithstanding your current capitalist industrial trappings. Viva el bosque.

    We started at the Grand Forest West loop and connected halfway to the Hilltop Trail to the…read morebeginning of the Grand Forest East loop. There were parking areas at both loops, but we took an Uber, so we didn't loop back. The West loop goes along the road on one side, so we could hear cars. There are tall trees and fairly dense vegetation, pretty flat and we saw a few bikers. When we started going across to the Hilltop Trail, it was a bit steep, but we got away from the road and it's a bit more serene. There was a pond on the map, but it was a bit underwhelming. A pretty easy hike for a nice stroll, but a pretty boring hike otherwise.

    Photos
    Grand Forest - Wild mushrooms

    Wild mushrooms

    Grand Forest - Trail head

    Trail head

    Grand Forest - Pond in the Grand Forest West loop

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    Pond in the Grand Forest West loop

    Manitou Beach - parks - Updated May 2026

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