Originally wanting to go to the Staircase Rapids trail, but it's currently closed because of the…read morefire. To save our trip to the Lake Cushman area, we popped into the Skokomish Park area and paid the day fee and for an hour on a double passenger kayak. The water is so fresh and clear, very clean! The views once you're on the lake are breathtaking. We enjoyed our kayaking journey and chilled for a bit exploring the rest of the grounds after. It's a great, quiet, and safe recreational area where you can spend the day or overnight camp. The rangers in the office as you check in and the guys that help you with the kayak are all friendly and helpful. It was a great experience and we definitely plan to come back!

The location is great on a beautiful lake. Water access for boating, swimming, fishing. We did all…read more3. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Lots of stuff for kids. Clean facilities. But...it is very expensive to camp with what you get (almost $300 for 3 nites). Our campsite was VERY narrow; no privacy. It was not peaceful since they cram so many sites together and no sound barriers. The far back tent sites may be better for privacy. The single bathroom building in the middle of the loop is OLD. The toilet stalls are so small! I could barely squeeze in and out by standing beside the toilet (yuk!). The worst part is there is only ONE shower stall for all the female campers. AND you need quarters! For as much as we paid for camping, that is ridiculous. We won't camp there again. $20 for the day use area is a much better value.

Came up from Olympia (approx 1 hr drive). Road is mostly paved or good gravel. Arrived at 10:30 to…read morestaircase with plenty of parking. Pit toilets at the main lot, 2-2.25 mile trail for staircase rapids loop - very kid friendly and a good distance for 4-6 yr olds (or younger with parent help). Kids liked throwing rocks in the stream after and relaxing by the water. Interesting trail post fire scenery. Rangers around if you have any questions.

Information on documents from September 2024…read more Beautiful location. Great for people of all ages.

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.

Came here with my church for their annual summer outing to this location. Very pretty! Big enough…read morefor a day trip adventure, but small enough to feel safe if something happens because the distances are not too far off from other mini bodies of land, if you paddle board, swim, or kayak at this location. $20 for an overnight pass. Otherwise, day passes only last until 2100 or 9PM. Know your camp site number so that you park at the correct place as listed on your pass. Do not want a ticket. Anyway, got to stargaze at the end of the night where not many people were around, despite coming here on a summer weekend. Really made for a peaceful time. Hiking is around here, too, but I did not get to partake because I met with the people from my church later in the day after coming from work

Generally my family heads out to Lake Chelan and i was invited out to visit at Lake Cushman this…read moresummer. There are so many beautiful pockets to take in the views & nature'The drive in is beautiful and not too far out, depending where you're staying (vacation residence, campgrounds). Beautiful lake, cold temperatures due to it being a glacier lake - the water is so clear ! Would love to go on some hikes and spend more time out there. Im so grateful that theres so much to see and do in out here in the pnw!

My favorite park. A lot of wildlife from birds (eagles, herons, even the occasional kingfisher) to…read moresalmon to shellfish and bugs. Wildflowers. Camping and clean bathrooms though I've never camped - it's a great place. Shallow creek area perfect for kids to swim. Just be aware of salmon season - and to respect them. Amazing place to observe nature.

This is a great park, as far as we know! We had no incidents, and loved the scenery all around. We…read morefound our campsite adequate and thought many around us looked pleasant as well. The bathrooms were clean and everyone we ran into was friendly. We loved the different varieties of water around, including the canal and also a cheerful creek running through the grounds.

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.

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.

What?! 3-stars? For...nature?…read more Yeah, I did it. If this were a hike in Indiana, or Ohio, or Kansas, it would easily be 5-stars. But, for Washington? Home to THREE National Parks, the largest glaciers in the lower 48, temperate rainforests, and hundreds of miles of coastline? Nah. This is an A-OK hike. It goes to a lake surrounded by forested hills. It looks like many lakes in WA and OR that are surrounded by forested hills. There aren't sweeping views of the Olympic Mountains, there aren't craggy cliffs overhead. There's lots of forest, and a pretty big lake. If you're super into lakes and trees, you'll dig this. But, you can find prettier lakes (Flapjack Lakes) via Staircase: https://www.yelp.com/biz/staircase-area-olympic-national-park-hoodsport And you can find prettier forests via Hoh River Trail: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hoh-rain-forest-visitor-center-forks If you're more into mountains and scenic vistas, Ellinor is much more rewarding and relatively close-by: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mount-ellinor-hoodsport SIDEBAR: this is the trailhead you climb "The Brothers" from. I can't really recommend climbing this mountain. The trail starts to fizzle out past Lena Lake and eventually becomes a full-on bushwhack. Route finding starts to take more time than actually moving. You'll second guess your every move, mutiny will be in the back of the mind for you and your comrades. The route up the mountain is also kind of winding and confusing. In early season, watch out for avalanches! One of our people got swept away by one while on this mountain, luckily she only had a sprung (It's my mission to make this word the past tense of sprang) ankle.

This hike is perfect for an beginner-intermediate hiker. It's easy to get to & even has a paved…read moreroad up to the trailhead as opposed to the primitive roads often near trailheads. They have vault bathrooms at the beginning of the trailhead near the parking lot. I checked the bulletins and signed the registry and headed up. I instantly noticed a difference from other trails I've been on in that the majority if not all the trail is shaded so even though it was like 85+ degrees when I went, it felt much cooler and there was even a breeze at times so the heat/sun wasn't an annoyance. The trail is a general medium uphill travel. I loved that it was gradual and not just a sharp incline with a huge amount of switchbacks like other trails. It's only about 1200-1300 elevation gain total. This trail allowed me to pace myself and not stop too much to take a breath. I was able to just keep going. I also liked that the trail was wide enough in most places where 2-3 people and pass each other at one time as opposed to having to yield. I also liked that even though I went on a Saturday around 10:45am the trail was practically empty. Such a difference from the trails near Snoqualmie and North Bend. Nobody appears to want to come down toward the Hood Canal to hike. You can hear the water throughout your trek uphill so it's a relaxing hike....is that even possible? I had seen a wooden sign about a mile before the lake that said Lena Lake but what I didn't notice was the word Upper in front of Lena Lake. I actually passed the lake because I didn't see the lookout point to my right and I actually went another 1.5 miles before my intuition told me to stop. Upper Lena lake is about another 7-8 miles past Lower Lena Lake, and I was definitely not ready for that plus the hike down. I will say that the bugs get a lot worse the higher up you go, or at least they did for me. I passed two huge wasp/hornet nests and they just don't leave you alone no matter how much you swat. I also ran into some friendly grouses. No bears or mountain lions this time thankfully. Anyway, on the way back down to the lake I went off the trail a bit toward Lena Creek and there were a lot of campers and people filling up their water. You can also cross a log bridge which I believe takes you to the Brothers trail. FYI: The lake is on your right about 3.5 miles up from the trailhead. Then if you want, you can trek a mile or two down hill to get closer to the ground level of the lake as opposed to peering out over it on the rocks. My hiking app kept telling me the lake is called Olympic National Forest Pond. There were a few rowdy tubers on the lake that were disturbing the peace of the outdoors, but to each his own. Overall though, I will definitely be doing this trail again as it was the perfect length and also has the nice treat of the lake once you get to the end. Definitely take a reasonable amount of water (I took 1.5 Liters) and some food/snacks and even some swimwear. Please take your trash and doggie doo bags out with you. I did notice a few spots where there was dog feces directly on the trail or doo bags throw into the ground cover. Be a responsible dog owner please. Also as of 8/20, there were some downed logs laying across some of the Upper Lena Lake trail so you may need to crawl and climb over wet/muddy areas if you go up further.