Quick stop by Fort Worden SP for sunset on route back home. 

Got to parking area around 7:00 pm and there were a lot of spots open. Walked around the lighthouse a bit before getting distracted by the sunset and sea otters. Continued to try to balance my attention between the two things until it got too dark to really take any photos.

Headed back to the car and off to the homestead.

Overall: .9 miles, 33' vertical, 1:00:17 rt

Support Washington Trails Association. #Hikeathon

One last sunset to close out August & Hike-a-Thon! We headed to Ford Wordon State Park for the first time, and we will definitely be back!

We arrived at 7pm and parked at the lighthouse. We took a short stroll along the beach before taking in the sunset from behind the lighthouse.

We saw a raft of otters playing and eating dinner to celebrate the end of another great Hike-a-Thon. 

Stats: 1.11 miles; 89 ft elevation gain; 3.1 mph average walking speed.

We made this a loop hike, starting at North Beach County Park, going clockwise along North Beach, around Point Wilson, and back through Fort Worden. No permit or Discover Pass is needed to park at North Beach County Park. Parking note:

The parking lot at North Beach County Park is small; avoid parking in the adjacent neighborhood.

It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day and the tide was out. We walked along the north beach looking for pretty pebbles and admiring the beautiful glacial stratigraphy on the bluff face. While walking the shoreline, a Bald Eagle swooped down and plucked a fish right out of the water not more than 20 feet away, a breathtaking sight. The tide was low enough such that we could walk in sand all the way around Point Wilson. We stopped and checked out the lighthouse, which was closed. We walked along the south beach past the campground to the little store, the Cable House Canteen, where we picked up a couple cold canned drinks. We chatted a little with the campground host who handed out a couple treats for our two dogs. Then up the hill we walked to the main Fort Worden area with all the former barracks and other buildings. A mobile coffee stand, Java Gypsy, was set up there. We bought a couple iced mochas from them and sat down at an outside table at the Common (which also has nice restrooms). From there we walked through the forest campground and picked up the Chinese Garden Trail back to North Beach County Park.

Total mileage was about four miles. Our route along North Beach can be done at low tide. Daytime lows generally occur in spring and summer.

Beautiful grounds with a seemingly well maintained historic military fort. I enjoyed reading about the various buildings still standing and imagining what life was like during those times. Lots of different wildlife including deer, seals, otters, and eagles. And diverse landscape of beaches, wooded trails, and prairies. Spectacular views of Mt. Baker and the Puget Sound. Easy to spend all day there exploring and not see everything.

Nice evening walk in calm skies. Only did the beach from the lighthouse point to the pier and back, about 2 miles.

As luck would have it, an otter scampered out of hiding twice along my walk. Hard to get good impromptu pictures of such a wily critter but still felt lucky to spot him at all. He didn’t seem too spooked by the presence of people in the area