Saltwater State Park

This is one of my favorite places to go! It’s beautiful and you get to be right on the beach. They have a cool sea themed play ground. They also have an old school huge stone fire pit. This is one of the hidden treasures of the Pacific Northwest! The wild life, views and park itself is with the trip! Definitely five stars!

*To enter, pay $10 Day Pass, or $30 Discover Pass good for WA state park entrance for a whole year*Though small, this state park offers a small sandy beach, picnic areas, campground(closed), multiple bathrooms and a super fun hiking trail. We did the Saltwater State Park Loop following the Alltrails app. The trail is a loop, its nicely maintained, and just enough to still make you feel like you are part of the wilderness. There are a few moderate inclines, but not difficult. We came on a sunny day, and only encountered a few muddy spot. I imagine you will need good hiking shoes right after it rains. We spotted so many mushrooms, which can be a fun activity for both adults and kids.

I went ahead and bought the Discovery Pass (annual access to all WA State parks) when I went to Saint Edwards State Park near Kirkland.Daily access is $10 versus $30 for the year, so I sought to get value from the transaction.Saltwater State Park is smallish but full of wonder! The beach along the Puget Sound is interesting -- when I was there a bunch of ducks were on the water, and a bunch of logs on the coast.I found crows and they were excitable. Very friendly in a time of corvid.

Absolutely beautiful place for a walk along the vibrant shores of Puget Sound. Or bring a place to bring the family for a picnic or to watch stunning sunsets while seals swim just offshore.

Beautiful views and tons to explore! I was a bit surprised by the sign that said they arent responsible for cars getting broken into. Happens a lot there? Anyway, I was parked where I could see my car and had a wonderful time there. Took some really gorgeous pictures of the sunset on the water. Seems like a really romantic place to take a first time date! Or just exploring with the family!

A small but cute park with beach access. You may have to climb over a little driftwood to get down to the water and the beach area is small. We really enjoyed walking out in the water on a small sand bar. I recommend water shoes since the beach is rocky. There is a pretty paved path along the water to walk along and it is dog friendly!

Wonderful park with views of Maury Island and Dash Point. We walk along the Puget Sound and deep into the wooded camp areas. This is a great park for taking a walk.

This is a nice park for scuba diving, whale watching, and just walking. Its limited by private beaches on either side so, not really great for long walks. But its a nice, safe place to relax and watch the water.

Had a great time here with the kids and caugth a nice sunset after a day full of rain.

Visiting at low tide or shortly after is the best way to plan a visit. Rocky beach has small peninsulas that get covered with rising tide and rocks can be overturned to observe small crabs and other marine life. A very small, narrow sandy beach (private beachfront is adjacent to park and marked with rope barrier), but a larger grassy area along water above made rock seawall provides space for picnicking and hanging out. Playground and bathrooms there, which I did not use my most recent visit because of pandemic. In the last, I have used (I have seen better state park day-use restrooms). There is an outdoor shower spigot on wooden post to rinse sand and saltwater off body, shoes, and kid digging toys.

Girlfriend and I found a trail that took us on a hike through a forested area. Besides the constant airplanes, it was very relaxing.

Decent piece of public beach, its got picnic benches and grills. There are a couple of hiking trails inland. The trails dip under the Marine View Drive bridge which is kind of cool. A good spot for families.

This place has some wonderful views of puget sound and islands on the east. Plenty of place to picnic or just sit. Park is maintained well and clean. Also has barbecue grills. Might not be good for jogging/running since the stretch is not long enough. Parking is easy to find with discover pass. Toilets and accessible parking available.

Clean bathroom, trails well maintained. Nice suburban park. State park, so remember your Discover Pass...Ranger checks parked cars often.

Nice beach for a family outing. Plenty of picnic tables and beaches to sit at. Look closely and you can see a variety of birds and even a sea lion or two.

A good close to the city beach on the sound. Always busy in the summer, a good contemplative space in the winter. Bathrooms are available but you have to walk to them. They are clean.The snack bar is up and running again, but I have not gone in so I cant say anything good or bad about it. This is a good place for a large or small picnic. Lots of ppl bring dogs, and they are not always well behaved (or the owners arent, you choose). Bring your leash and be prepared to deal with loose animals. Lots of wildlife around, pretty good tidepooling when the tide is out. Good for shell collecting if thats your thing. Pretty good for swimming for little ones. Sundays are beautiful.

Beautiful! Wish the beach area was longer. I havent tried the trails yet.

Nostalgic park with old forest cabin buildings. Lots of camp spaces ranging from $20 to $37. $10 park entrance. Small trail around campground and goes down to ocean.

Great hiking trail around the back of the park! Steep in places, but really well maintained and managed.

Met some freinds for a brown bag picnic and walk along the shore line. My cars GPS took us a little out of the way but to the gate. Problem was that way you didnt see the signs until you were on top of gate.Grass need moving but the tables were clean, trash cans had been emptied. It was a beautiful sunny day with friends.A park we will visit again.

Its a nice day use park with a beach. A fun place to take the dog and the kids. The campground has been neglected and half of it (now closed) is overgrown with weeds and brush. Another negative is the jet noise. Planes taking off or landing at SeaTac International Airport fly directly over the park, day and night. The available camping spaces are mostly open areas without shade trees or any defined vegetation boundaries. There are hiking trails and adequate parking but a sign entering the park warns that it is a high theft area. Lock your vehicle, close your windows and dont leave valuables inside it.

Great family spot. there is a food window with the basics. restrooms and lots of places to sit. its only 10 dollars for the day. definitely recommend

The loop trail behind the parking lot is great! It has a couple views of the sound and a lot of great stretches along the river.

This is my neighborhood beach and love it soo much! Very clean and safe. There is place to take wonderful long walks.

Great place for exploring in low tide. There are many clam shells and many clams beneath, as we were squirt many times! Not a sandy beach, Id recommend boots for exploring.Edit: I learned the creatures underneath the sand are gooey ducks.

Love it here and doesnt have the insane crowds as Dash Point. Favorite park to pack the smokey joe and take the family down and grill.

Nice park. It was relatively clean. Found an out-of-the-way shaded picnic table/shelter at the farther end of the parking lot at which we ate our delicious Wallys Chowder House dinner.

Saltwater State Park is the perfect place to relax for a few hours. The water is peaceful and clean with a shallow beach that is perfect for kids. The park is well maintained and has good bathroom facilities. Lots of driftwood and if you are lucky you will get to check out the tide pools around the black rocks.

Small. Clean. No beach. Decent trail. Otherwise, good park.

Love this little state park for the view of Puget Sound and the trail in the surrounding woodsy area.

Saltwater state park would have been a 5 star if it wasnt for the flights overhead. Beautiful views. Good sites.

Friendly kayak/paddle board rentals where they have a snack shack. Had a nice time rowing out & even saw a seal pretty close in the water! The beach front is pretty limited in space so it gets rather crowded quickly, however just down the path there are a good number of picnic tables in grass & a few charcoal grills.

Great place for some beach access close to town. Hiking, walking and camping. Discover Pass is required. Usually not crowded. Okay for a picnic. Scuba diving attraction as well, some shipwrecks.

We enjoyed a responsible and physically (socially) distanced birthday celebration here. if you enjoy full sun on these summer days, the beach facing areas of the park are for you. and it also helps that the SnackShack is open for business - makes it easy to find something refreshing in case you forgot to bring it with you.

Ive lived in the Des Moines area for over 11 years. I have never visited this park and I must say Ive been missing out. I like the des Moines marina, seahurst, golden gardens, alki but saltwater is pretty nice. I cant wait to go there again!

SO BEAUTIFUL! Yes. It is not one of the oceans of the Bahamas, but it got its own different and special beauty. And I think it is amazing. The place I go to for many different reasons. From a need to clear my thoughts, to a walk by the water line.

Beautiful, clean, people masked: what more could one ask for!

Serious this is our 1st time and we even hiked in the campground area 1.5mi one end and 1.5 back.. it was beautiful along it was a nice day. Most definitely will come back

Gorgeous park. I saw two very large octopus while diving here. It was amazing!

Its small, the bathrooms are disgusting, they close off half of the park when its not camping season so you cant even drive down to the other areas, stuff is falling apart. There are so many better beaches to go to within a short driving distance.

Nice waterfront area, they have restrooms, showers and also a shop to buy snacks, ice-creams. We forgot suncream but thankfully it is available here.Good picnic tables and barbecue grills

Its a nice drift wood beach park . A nice place to relax. Its pretty quiet .

Great running trails, super special spot right in the middle of Des Moines.

It is a great camping spot. If loud planes bug you, dont go because they are flying over all night. But dont let that bug you, beautiful trails, beautiful beaches, a fun experience!

Beautiful park, but quite pricey for no hookups; noise from jets(in flight path). Plus side; bathrooms are very clean, with flush toilets and there are showers as well. Dump and water at park entrance. Camp host is VERY nice and extremely helpful.Not many sites for a large rig.

Im a photographer and I love coming here to shoot! Feel free to check my Instagram out @capturedimages27

Nice place with beach access and steep trails.

Great place to take an evening stroll especially when the tide starts to go low! Kind of small in my opinion but with the loop hike its decent size!

High tide happens to bring everything in didnt jump into the water like normal. Everyone kept the distance. Park clean and kid friendly.

Peaceful and clean. Great for family fun. Beach access, hiking trails, camping, and a playground. There is also an open spot for you to bring your volleyball net and gear.

A great park with nice paths by the water and trails in the woods.

Sand, ducks, sailboats, trees, & water. What more could anyone ask for when needing to retreat to a moment of solitude or a place a dad can teach his son the wonders of the outdoors. Its worth venturing and its literally a backyard beauty.

Love the short walk to the beach and the weather during this time of year is great! Saltwater does not allow campfires only propane and charcoal fires in the grill (you are allowed to have a mini fire in the grill if needed.

I enjoyed this location. They have a place that you can rent a raft and buy hamburgers and hotdogs. The actually beach part was terrible, dead barnacles everywhere. I hate barnacles.

Low key park, right in middle of suburban Seattle. There is even sports for overnight car camping.

Nice beach for exploring. We went on a day when the tide was super low. Would visit again, but would not recommend for tide pools. Had nice clean bathrooms and good parking.

It has everything you would expect of a State park: waterfront, trail, decent restroom, and campground. Not too crowded.

The tide went out really far. There was so much wildlife to observe as well. It also had a fun stream to play in.

Its a nice park. There is a $10 entry fee. Theres bbq pits and beach access.

So nice, I saw a seal swimming. I love the view and the area is so serene.

Hurry up and go check this place out. Theres a guy that sets up shop during the summer so go get an ice cream. Theres plenty of beach space. There is a cabana with room for a small party and even a massive fire circle right next to it. Mmmm, cup of noodles

Really beautiful evening. We purchased a discover pass this year and this park requires one. Disappointing though to see about 15 cars sneaking in at the end of the day without a pass.

Great family park. The kids will love the beach when is low tide. There’s so many sea creatures to see.

Well managed.I had mishap and got ticket because I am so new in this country and didnt know about parking pass system but other than that it is well maintained and family friendly place.

This is a great place to visit to see the saltwater and how our surroundings coexist with it..

Read this post for some detailed helpful feedback- Bathrooms and showers. Running water, outlets etc. SUPER clean, I was impressed- If youre looking for a quiet place to camp this isnt the place. Planes take off over head about every 5-15 min. At night it is less frequent and didnt disrupt my sleep- Campsite was super clean- Dog friendly- Beach is a 3-5 min walk from camp ground which is ideal! Not a swimming beach, super shallow and lots of shells and seaweed!

Very nice lots of picnic tables and benches. Mostly flat. Very nice park

A beautiful hidden gem. Panoramic views of Puget sound, loss of picking tables, kids play area, beachcombing, state campground. Not a large park but certainly good beach access.

Good spot for flippin with the kids. They love to find all the little creatures. Good spot for familys to hang out lots of space for fun.

Very nice park. The only negative thing is that bathrooms were closed at the waterfront. But thats probably due to covid19.

I love this park. Its close to the city but feels like a natural oasis.

Great place to walk and relax as well as picnic all while looking at the water.

Was really hard to get to the water, was really blocked up by all kinds of things like wood? You would think that it would have a much safer entrance? Especially for disabled/elderly people who would like to get closer to the water? Just seems pretty dangerous to me????

Restrooms are open and good open space area for big family gathering

Beautiful place to be. Love to camp here

Long strolls on the beach, very beautiful vistas. Nicely maintained trails and campgrounds

A really nice place to go for a few hours. My kids played at the playground, then we went for a hike that looped up behind the parking lot, v and back to the other side. It was about 1.5 miles. There are Barbecue pits and campgrounds here, but the planes overhead would be so annoying while camping. Tons of picnic tables, too. Discover pass is required.

Water isnt too deep so kids can enjoy. Beautiful scenery!

Beautiful state park, great easy hiking trail. Love going on family walks here.

Great park! Alot to see, great to walk! Fun lil remote sites.

Nice park for the family to spend time and have fun!! Kids would love it!

Quiet, gorgeous park with few people during the early hours. Great place to walk the beach during low tide to see some sea stars and other wildlife.

Get there early and it is quite peaceful. Gets busy quick.

Great play area the only reason I didnt give it a 5 star was because or the very rocky area close to the water and lots of slimy greenish by the shore

Small park with a small handi store in the park. Eagles fantastic views

Beautiful park with easy, paved trails to hike, as well as beach access. Gorgeous views!

Beautiful beach! Requires discovery pass

Beautiful scenery and peaceful place to walk around.

Needs more trash cans but over all nice plenty of parking.

Could tell the camping area is definitely going downhill. Loved camping here when I was younger

Its a really nice beach park, but with all the picnic tables there one trash can at the restroom. The large trash can overflowing. Please take care of the trash issue. Very nice shady spots to picnic and barbeque.

Neat trails. Beautiful beach views.

Sea and forest. Perfect

Nice place for picnics, solitude time, family picnics! Quite a calming view

Such an awesome place. A great place to play and the sun a baby crab hunt. Ofcourse when your done please return them to there habitat. Grab your bucket and shovels. The water is so clear. There are no bathrooms. So make sure you go before you go. This is a private beach so make sure your a member or your with a member. Tribal members are welcome. But this place is amazing

It was horrible there was lots of people not wearing masks. There was a man coling my wife names. That was increadeble the amount of them that did not wanted to make sure that no one can get sick. Thats tearable that people dont care about others.

Nice park. Lots of open space. You will need a Discover pass to park, but there is no fee. During low tide there is a good amount of beach access, but during high tide, not so much, but still a nice place to walk dogs. Tons of picnic tables, with 1 or 2 shelters. Also 2 fire pits but you probably have to bring your own firewood. I don’t think you can burn driftwood. Also a sign posted about not removing any shells, rocks, etc.

Its very peaceful. Theyre a lot of logs where to seat and benches if you want to eat. Small place but very nice and clean.

Perfect day outing. Hiking, BBQ, sand castles and kayaks.

Lovely park and great place for kids to explore. There are awesome tide pools during low tide and a nice little walk along the beach.