Dash Point State Park: From the Beach to the Forest

A beautiful, sunny day in February is a great opportunity to do some exploring. On such a Saturday we decided to travel down to Federal Way and explore Dash Point State Park. Washington state has over 100 state parks so there are a number of locations to see, and we have only visited a few of them. It was time to explore more.

Dash Point is on Puget Sound in Federal Way. We took the 320th St. exit off I-5 and drove west. When it ends, one needs to turn right. Google sent us left, but that was wrong. It’s a few miles up the road. When entering the day use area, visitors can turn right and park at the top of the hill with views over the sound or turn left and drive down to the parking lot near the water. Of course a Discover Pass is needed. We did see a ranger checking cars for their pass while we were there.

We drove down the hill to the lower parking lot. From there it was a short walk to the beach. When we arrived, there were a few people enjoying the beach which wasn’t very wide. There were a number of picnic tables as well as a restroom there so it was a good place for a family to enjoy. The beach is also not very long. There is a creek that runs down to the water and divides the beach as well, but a bridge allows one to easily go to the other side.

After spending some time at the beach, we headed out to do some hiking. There was a signed trailhead at the south end of the parking lot so we started there. The trail went under the road we had come down on and continued to follow the stream that was crossed by a bridge near the beach. The ravine it created was a nice hike. The trail was fairly wide and compact. It wasn’t really muddy even in January. While the vegetation was pretty brown, bright green moss hung from tree branches and clung to the sides of the trees.

Eventually the trail came to an interesting bridge. Steps lead up to the bridge which crossed over the stream. On the other side was a bench visitors could sit on and view the scenery. The trail then continued on the much higher level above the stream.

The trail did continue to follow the stream for a ways, but eventually it turned away from it. The park has quite a number of trails, and one of the challenges is navigating them. The trails were not always well marked. At some junctions one could see names of the trails posted up on a nearby tree. However, few maps could be found so the names didn’t always mean much. The website for the park has a nice trail map so hikers might want to have it on their phone to check where they are. I used Google maps, but it doesn’t have all the trails marked on their map.

From the trail we were following, we could see the nearby camping area, and a number of camping trailers were parked there. There are actually quite a few camping spots available.

We got a little confused with the trails but eventually decided to follow the Boundary Trail. This led us up to a nearby neighborhood which had a nice little park for kids with some playground equipment. It is, however, not part of the state park.

Near this trailhead was an interesting phenomenon. I was looking down at a small puddle and noticed that it was bubbling. Even though we had come quite high up from the water, this was a little spring. The pool was not large, and the water flowed away in a small stream to join another water stream, but it was surprising to see this little spring bubbling away.

We continued on the Boundary Trail a little farther and crossed another trail. We were heading toward a trail called Fern Alley. I figured with a name like that, it must have a lot of ferns growing along the trail, and it did. Even in the winter the ferns were green and abundant along parts of the trail.

Farther down the trail we came to a pond. The trail went close to the pond. Two resident ducks were on a log which lay across the pond. The pond had quite a bit of brush and fallen branches in it. It wasn’t the prettiest of ponds, but it was an interesting sight along the trail.

After completing this trail, we ended up in the camping area of the park. In this particular section no one was camping, but the sites looked nice. However, it could be a long walk to the nearest bathroom.

To get back to our car we needed to either return the way we came or cross the road. We chose the latter. There is a crosswalk to use, but no lights to protect one. After we crossed over, we turned right and followed the road around to the top of the hill and the park there. This was actually a fairly large area with a number of picnic tables, more than down by the water.

Since it was winter, the trees were bare of leaves. As a result we could see across the East Passage to Vashon Island. In summer, I think the trees with their leaves would limit the view. I didn’t really see any place where the trees were thin enough to create an uninhibited view which is too bad.

To get back to the parking lot and our car, we needed to take a rather steep trail down. The trail was in good shape. In fact it looked like it had been recently redone with a rock base and then bark along the edges. Since it was fairly steep, we took it slowly. There were a few view points along the way to get our attention. Near the bottom of the trail some hand rails on one side helped it feel safer. As we neared the bottom, we passed some young people coming up the trail. While not long, it would definitely be a steep climb going up.

The trail came out at the park on the beach. We hadn’t noticed the trail when we were there earlier. However, more dramatically was the change in the beach. In the few hours that we had been hiking, the tide had gone out exposing a much larger beach area. With the larger beach came a larger crowd. The parking lot was twice as full as when we had parked there in the morning.

We walked out onto the now exposed beach and walked around some. One interesting point was the creek that flowed into the water continued as a creek in the wider beach. To get to the other side, the bridge is still the best option. Some brave souls tried to jump across the stream, not always successfully.

After enjoying the beach for a bit, we decided it was time to head home. Dash Point has a lot of trails to hike. We certainly didn’t make it to all of them. Some of the names were a bit intimidating such as Heart Attack Hill. We didn’t try that one. However, in general the trails were easy to hike but having a guide is definitely helpful.

Anyone else have a favorite trail or part of Dash Point Park? Share your experience in the comment box below. I’m always glad to hear from you. Thanks for your continued support and encouragement. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign up to get my weekly post in your inbox. Just look for the easy sign up box.