Walkabout: Dumas Bay Park trail

Location: Federal Way.

Length: About a half-mile round-trip.

Level of difficulty: Flat to gently sloping, dirt/gravel path and sandy beach.

Setting: Visit nearby Dash Point State Park for a broader beach and more company, but come to this unique gem to commune with nature. Established first as a King County park and bird sanctuary, this 21-acre city park offers access to Puget Sound on lovely little Dumas Bay. A broad gravel path leads down a gentle slope through a largely deciduous forest that arches over the trail. Passing by thickets of salmonberry, you emerge onto a small sandy beach bordered by a marsh of cattails and spirea.

Scattered driftwood logs provide a perch or backrest while you watch waves rippling into the bay, ships bound for Tacoma or sunsets over the Sound. The beautiful bay is enclosed protectively by land, and Hollywood filmmakers could easily make this a secluded pirate's cove.

Highlights: This shoreline is home to one of the area's largest great blue heron breeding colonies. Although the birds nest here in the spring, they can be seen year-round, fishing in the shallow fringes of the bay for crabs, crawfish, shiner perch and shellfish. Rafts of various types of waterfowl bob about the bay during all seasons — bring binoculars and a guidebook, and start learning your ducks.

Facilities: None.

Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect; no pets or fires on beach. Pack out what you bring in, and please keep the site as natural as you find it.

Directions: From Interstate 5 (northbound or southbound) take Exit 147 and head west on South 272nd Street. Turn left on Highway 99. Turn right on Highway 509 (Dash Point Road). In 5 miles, turn right on 44th Avenue Southwest. The park is on the right in .2 mile.

For more information: 253-661-4041.

Cathy McDonald is co-author with Stephen Whitney of "Nature Walks In and Around Seattle" (The Mountaineers, 1997).