State Parks and National Parks

Birch Bay State Park

A one-mile sand beach along Birch Bay is the major draw at this 193-acre park facing Puget Sound.

Campers at the 167-site campground may enjoy the cool shade of the tall cedars and hemlocks, then hit the beach for swimming, boating, crabbing or just gazing at the islands that dot the waters to Vancouver.

A half-mile nature trail skirts a saltwater marsh at Terrell Creek, one of the few freshwater/saltwater estuaries left in northern Puget Sound. Here visitors may glimpse the zenlike concentration of great blue herons hunting for fish. The birds have a colony nearby.

These waters are more popular with boaters than anglers. There is much kayaking and the state park includes a primitive boat launch.

Photo credits in order: Courtesy of Washington