Saltwater State Park is a plot of second-growth timber on

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

in the city of

Des Moines, Washington Des Moines ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 32,888 as of the 2020 census. The city is located on the east shore of Puget Sound, near the center of the Seattle metropolitan area. It is bordered by th ...

, United States. The main attraction is of saltwater beachfront, including a sandy swimming beach in the southwest corner, and rocky tideflats along the west with a submerged artificial reef that is popular with

scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

. Overlooked by most visitors is the steep ravine of ''McSorley'' (formerly ''Smith'') ''Creek'' which winds inland in a gentle "S" curve joined by three tributary streams. About 30 campsites are situated on a road that parallels the creek, serving the public on a first-come-first-served basis. On both the north and south sides of the ravine there is a network of hiking trails which follow up the side creeks, rise through jungles of

stinging nettle ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. ...

s, skirt the edges of cliffs and ridges, and cross wooded plateaus. As of 2009, Saltwater State Park has been designated a

Marine Protected Area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...

. Salmon spawn in McSorley Creek and the area provides habitat for many species of fish. Marine View Drive passes over the park on a high bridge, and 16th Avenue S crosses two branches of McSorley Creek to form the eastern boundary. One trail rises between the two branches of the creek to exit the park, while another trail continues from the dead-end of the campground service road a short way east of 16th Ave. along the main branch of the creek, informally extending the park. The Redondo turn point for jets approaching SeaTac Airport is just to the south, so the park is rather noisy, but Saltwater remains one of the most-used State Parks in the Puget Sound region with an average of 350,000 visitors a year.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Saltwater State Park
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission {{authority control Parks in King County, Washington State parks of Washington (state)