Small kid asked for a beach hike and we hadn't done this one since before he was born, so it felt like a good time to revisit it. We like to do it counter-clockwise because we can spend the end meandering on the beach without hurry.
We got to the first parking lot near the cemetery but it was full at 11 am. We continued to the second lot but it was full as well. We were able to snag a spot after some patience when other visitors left.
Bathrooms were stocked and clean enough, but the lock did not work on the right one.
This is a really great walk, especially after all of the gray fog we just had. You have views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the Puget Sound for the whole walk. Even though there were a lot of visitors, the nature of the loop means that it didn't feel especially crowded. It does get narrow on the bluff portion of the trail but there are regularly beaten down spots to step off and let others by. If you have really small kids, there are spots where you might want to take care and hold hands because the hillside does drop off steeply in places. Overall a great hike for kids though.
The beach portion is a different kind of cool, and the distractions of the kelp and shiny rocks slowed us down significantly. We did see a sea lion poke his head up towards the end as well.
It can be windy on the bluff so bring a jacket even if you don't expect to need it. We brough a trash bag for litter but even with beach debris, we weren't able to fill it much. Note that dogs are allowed ON LEASH. We did have a couple of larger dogs run up on us on the beach barking aggressively (we had a small, on-leash dog and two children), and it led to a verbal confrontation that could have been avoided.
When we got back to the parking lot, there were cars parked along the road almost down to the stop sign. I don't think often THAT busy, but it is a really cool place so be prepared to share it. As far as we could tell, there is no parking pass requirement for the Prairie Overlook parking areas.
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