Walkabout: Saltwater State Park trails

By Cathy McDonald
Special to The Seattle Times

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Location: Des Moines.

Length: Three miles of trails.

Level of difficulty: Flat-to-moderate dirt/gravel hillside trails (muddy after rains); paved shoreline walk and campground road offer good accessibility.

Setting: Sure, it's on the flight path for Sea-Tac, but for those who like identifying planes, there's a front-row seat on a sandy beach along Puget Sound's East Passage, with views of sunsets behind Vashon Island and the Olympic Mountains. Nestled in a lush forested ravine, the park offers trails on the surrounding ridges and a paved trail along the beach. This 88-acre park and campground is one of the most-visited in the state. The site was popular in the past as well; shell middens discovered here reveal that ancestors of tribes now on the Muckleshoot Reservation used the area as a summer camp.

Highlights: The park's trails, roads, buildings and other stonework such as fireplaces were constructed during the Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), when Roosevelt's government put several million of the unemployed to work. One of thousands of CCC groups nationwide, about 200 workers set up camp in McSorley's Gulch. The workers received $30 a month, with mandatory $25 allotment checks sent home to their families. A historical photo posted on the Des Moines Historical Society Web site shows a large group of uniformed young men posing in front of the park's extensive temporary buildings.

Facilities: Restrooms, water fountain, phone, playground, seasonal camping, snack bar and free nature classes for kids (call for info).

Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect; no horses.

Directions: Southbound on Interstate 5, take Exit 149, and go west on Highway 516 (Kent-Des Moines Road). Turn left on Highway 509 (Marine View Drive), turn right on South 251st Street, and turn left on Eighth Place South. Northbound on Interstate 5, take Exit 147 and head west on 272nd Street. Turn right on 16th Avenue South, left on 14th Place South, right on Marine View Drive and left into the park.

Information: 253-661-4956 or www.parks.wa.gov. For CCC history, see: www.cccalumni.org.

Cathy McDonald is co-author with Stephen Whitney of "Nature Walks In and Around Seattle," with photographs by James Hendrickson (The Mountaineers, second edition, 1997).

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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