Constellation Park Tide Pools

My family was in town recently and when my brother suggested that we might go see some tide pools, I started envisioning a caravan of cars driving 2-3 hours each way to the Peninsula and my skin crawled. Then, I looked up tide pools near Seattle and found this awesome list (not all of which are as close to Seattle).

It turns out that Constellation Park (also known as Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint) is only a 15 minute drive to West Seattle, which is much more my speed with a large crew and a toddler who hadn’t been sleeping well with all the grandparent excitement in town.

We picked up my brother from his early morning flight and stopped by Bakery Nouveau for croissants while my dad and husband biked to West Seattle. Julia loved their mushroom quiche and while I still like the bakeries in North Seattle better, this was a good spot to grab a coffee and snacks while we waited.

After a stop at Target to pick up water shoes for the travelers, we headed to the beach. I liked the spot immediately – it was in a residential area away from shops and restaurants, so parking was easy. I didn’t see bathrooms nearby, however, so you might make a pit stop beforehand and time your visit well.

We were the only people in the area for awhile and Julia loved walking over the rocks with her bucket and shovel, filling them with water and dumping it out.

IMG_20180331_104309.jpg

Having multiple sets of adult hands around meant that we could take turns supervising Julia and hunting for sea life to show her.

 

My mom has a natural eye for this sort of thing, so following behind her was the best. We picked up rocks to check out the crabs underneath (making sure to set them back down very gently), and found different kinds of sea anemones and sea snails. Julia wasn’t very interested in touching, but we all showed her how to gently use one or two fingers to touch the animals, just like at the aquarium.

IMG_20180331_104417.jpg
Sea anemones that lightly stick to your fingers

We got better at spotting new things as we walked through the water. One of my favorites, which I couldn’t get a good picture of, was the Northern Feather Duster Worm. This little creature has an unassuming tube-shaped body that looks quite benign out of the water, but it spreads feelers out that look like beautiful red and black plumes and retract very quickly if you touch them. There was a whole “shelf” of them at the sea edge of the tide pools that were just beautiful to see. We also saw two purple starfish on our visit – those definitely topped Julia’s list.

IMG_20180331_111424.jpg

We spent a little over an hour here and I can’t wait to go back. I loved that the ground offered Julia a walking challenge with its uneven and rocky surfaces, but wasn’t as steep as some other tide pools I’ve been to. There weren’t significant waves (it was low tide, which also helped with viewing) and the area wasn’t crowded with people or cars, so it felt very safe. Julia could definitely have spent more time scooping sand and water into her bucket, which is the highest praise I can give, but this was also a great spot for adults since there were lots of things to see and beautiful views.

If you’re looking for a spot to fill up afterwards, we strongly recommend Circa for brunch. It was very family friendly, but still had high quality food with interesting touches. 3 of us had the Eggs Sardou (artichoke bottoms topped with spinach in parmesan sauce and poached eggs), and Julia ate the giant kids plate of cheesy eggs like we’d been starving her.

Things to bring on your visit:

  • Water shoes or rain boots: I was really happy in some inexpensive Target rain boots, Julia had water sandals, and my brother wore more traditional water shoes. Everyone else just had regular shoes that could withstand some water, but you’ll feel more adventurous if you have comfortable footwear that you don’t mind getting wet.
  • Sand toys: we probably could have gotten along without these, but we keep a little bucket and shovel in the back of the car and I think they kept Julia interested significantly longer than she otherwise would have been.
  • Change of clothes: You’ll definitely want a spare pair of pants for anyone who might be apt to sit on the kelp covered rocks (so, anyone under 15), as well as spare socks and shoes.
  • Warm clothes: this will depend on your preference, but Julia was pretty comfortable in a little fleece. I had a denim shirt and a scarf, but my Southern California parents were in lightweight down jackets. Safe to say it’s a good idea to keep some extra layers in the car.
  • Sand removal method: baby powder works wonders, but if you’re wearing shoes, you’ll probably just want a towel to wipe off with and/or a plastic bag to stick your dirty shoes in if you don’t want them flopping about the car.

Have you visited Constellation Park or other local tide pool spots? What are your favorites?

Advertisement

2018 Camping Reservation Time!

We’ve lived in Seattle for over 4 years now and have been admittedly really terrible at taking advantage of the rich camping resources in the Pacific Northwest. I love being organized, but most of my organizational skills (read: energy) go into planning our one major international vacation per year, which has historically left little advance planning time for camping. Combine that with the fact that campgrounds in our area usually book up 6 months in advance and we usually end up sticking around town or taking day trips rather than staying overnight. I also found it overwhelming to think about camping with a baby when Julia was little (all the extra stuff, the distance from a large store to acquire anything we’d missed, etc). We finally made it out with her late summer/early fall last year and she had so much fun. I resolved to do better this year – making myself a list in October/November, setting a calendar reminder, and then booking a few extra spots as they opened. All of the campgrounds for this year are new to us, but I’ll include the ones we enjoyed last year, too.

All of the campgrounds for this year are new to us, but I’ll include the ones we enjoyed last year, too.

2018 Camping List

Moran State Park

We’ve only been to the San Juans once while we’ve lived here. I kept reading about how beautiful the campgrounds are, but it seemed like a waste to just do 1 night after all the effort to get there, so I booked a 3 day weekend and set yet another calendar reminder to pre-book our ferry reservations. We’re tentatively planning to bring our kayak on this trip, since our last San Juan visit included a beautiful short kayak trip.

Fort Worden State Park

Peter’s family had a reunion here several years ago and everyone raved about staying near Port Townsend. We have loved our day trips to the area and I’m looking forward to staying near the beach (we’re in the Upper Forest Campground, though, because I desperately need shade when possible), checking out the fort and the lighthouse, and probably skipping the camp stove in favor of eating out with the money we’ll be saving by camping instead of staying in a hotel. Maybe we’ll check out the Marine Science Center, too.

Sequim Bay State Park

A couple of summers ago, we were lucky enough to have friends who rented a house a block from the beach in Sequim and invited us to join them for a night. We loved the area and I’m really looking forward to going back for a camping trip. This will be another opportunity to strap the kayak to the Subaru since there’s supposed to be a great calm bay. I would also love to check out the lavender fields nearby.

Salt Creek Recreation Area

I read about the tidepools at this spot on the Peninsula and got so excited about taking Julia, especially since she’ll be big enough to actually pet the anenomes gently (I’m thinking of the Finding Dory scene with the touch pool with the crazy kids hands grabbing the poor animals, so we’ll be practicing our gentle touching). I accidentally booked us at Saltwater State Park instead, so I ended up cancelling and rebooking, but was a little late in the game and there weren’t many spots left. I looked up AirBnBs in the area, but even though our relatively last minute (because 4 months out is last minute here) campsite will basically be a square of grass next to a bunch of RVs, it will still be less significantly less expensive than staying indoors and we’ll be close to the tidepools. For one night, I think I’ll be able to live without the giant outdoors that I love about camping.

Beaver Bay Campground

A friend on Facebook posted about these amazing looking Ape Caves in the Mt. St. Helens area and when I kept looking in the vicinity, there’s also a swinging bridge and a boardwalk on the Trail of Two Forests nearby (Julia loves running down a good boardwalk). That sounded like too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I found a campground about a 15 minute drive away and booked two nights. We’ve never been to Mt. St. Helens because a 3 hour drive each way seems like too much for a day trip, so it will be great to finally get to explore a bit.

Cougar Rock Campground

We did a (long) day trip down to Mt. Rainier National park last year with my parents to hike the Bench and Snow Lake trail and it was so beautiful with all the wildflowers and mix of open and shady trail areas. I can’t wait to go back in late August to try some new trails and be able to stay overnight so we can get in some extra hiking through the meadows.

2017 Camping List

Penrose Point State Park

We stayed here in late August last year with family (we were in site 75) and had a great time. We brought our kayak and went out in the very calm water where we could actually reach down and touch the sand dollars from the boat. The campsite was a good size and flat so Julia and the cousins could chase each other while the adults enjoyed a beer. We also loved stopping in Gig Harbor on our way home to kayak, where we saw starfish and several harbor seals.

Dosewallips State Park

We came in mid-October and were lucky enough to be here on one of the few sunny weekends that month (we also stopped in Port Gamble on our way over for lunch and loved exploring the town). We stayed in a cabin and were very grateful for the heat and the fact that we didn’t have to bring and pitch a tent, particularly because this area is very popular with the local elk who love to leave their droppings everywhere (no joke, I had to bring a flashlight everywhere at night to avoid stepping in them). It was a really magical weekend – we saw the end of the salmon life cycle in the Dosewallips River and walked out to the shoreline at the end of the afternoon to play in the dirt and on the cool lookout tower. While Julia fell asleep, Peter and I checked out the stars in the meadow, which were particularly bright that night. Julia was up early the next morning, so we walked back to the shore while Peter slept in. We were fortunate to see a herd of elk grazing and paused to take each other in before continuing on and enjoying the cold, crisp morning. It was just one of those moments where you hug your baby close and are so grateful for time with them, especially if it’s outdoors. Our cabin, C6, was a reasonably short walk to the bathroom and was pretty close to the trail towards the shore, so it was a good spot for us.

Wallace Falls State Park

We stayed in a cabin here in 2015 when I was pregnant with Julia and loved the area. It’s pretty residential, so it feels like you’re escaping the city without abandoning all the city comforts (there are power lines over the first part of the trail to the Falls, which was a little surprising when we first visited). The cabins are really nice and have a private little “yard-like” area around them, as well as a really clean restroom and showers. We stayed in cabin C1 on our first trip, and in C2 recently. On our return trip last fall, it was nice to have a space where Julia could run around while we made dinner without worrying that she was going to dart into the road. There was a also a group next to us that seemed to be a fun girls’ trip. In our experience, the groups are really polite and keep the noise to a minimum, so it wasn’t a problem to have them next door with Julia sleeping. Our most favorite part of the whole stay is always eating at Wallace Falls Cafe. The Mi Quang Pho is literally the best comfort food ever – the broth is so flavorful and the pork rib just melts in your mouth. On our last visit, they were unexpectedly closed at night, so we went to the La Hacienda, the Mexican restaurant up the street (also delicious, but just not the same as steaming pho). When we drove by in the morning just to check, they were open and even let us order pho for breakfast since we’d missed out the night before. Julia devoured the broth and the noodles and I might have to order her a bowl of her own next time.

More Resources

Here are some of the websites I consulted when doing my research last year:

Parent Map – Last Minute Camping
Red Tricycle – 7 Tent-Worthy Campsites
Cascadia Kids – Campgrounds with Playgrounds

Are you planning camping trips with your kids this year? Where are your favorite spots to take them?