Scenic state parks of Hood Canal

It extends like a fish hook 70 miles between the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas, framed by the Hood Canal Bridge and the little town of Belfair, Mason County.

Bill Gates has a home here, as does the 7,000-acre Bangor submarine base. It's home to clams and oysters, as well as some of the prettiest state parks and scenery in Western Washington.

This is Hood Canal, located halfway between the urban Puget Sound area and Olympic National Park. It's close enough to the big cities for weekend excursions, making for a good one-tank vacation. Spacious, platform-mounted tents are ready for camping at a park near Brinnon, Jefferson County, or you can rent a cabin in one of the parks near Poulsbo.

Summer weekends may be booked up at some campgrounds, but plan a weeknight getaway, and many campsites are still available. Traversing the entire canal, both the east and west side, will eclipse 200 miles.

Here's a counterclockwise tour of the parks and other sights of Hood Canal, starting near the north end of Highway 101 west of the Hood Canal Bridge.

Shine Tidelands

Dosewallips State Park

This tiny 13-acre park, just across the Hood Canal Bridge, is day-use only. It's located seven miles south of Port Ludlow in Jefferson County, and provides picnic tables with a panoramic view of the bridge. Expect a rough road driving into the park.

This is a 425-acre park with nearly 6,000 feet of saltwater shoreline edging the town of Brinnon. It also has 5,400 feet of freshwater shoreline on the Dosewallips River, unique in that it offers both freshwater and saltwater activities. The park offers views of Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountains, and there's an observation tower built on the trail to the beach with interpretive displays about the park and Hood Canal.

Among your camping choices here are rentable, ready-to-use platform tents like those used by early loggers, miners and pioneers in the Hood Canal region.

Triton Cove State Park

This park is located six miles south of Brinnon on Hood Canal. The park covers 28 acres with 593 feet of shoreline on Triton Cove. It's a day-use only area with a popular boat-launching ramp.

Potlatch State Park

This 57-acre camping park, with 19 tent spaces and 18 trailer spaces, has nearly 10,000 feet of saltwater shoreline on Hood Canal. It's located three miles south of Hoodsport in Mason County on Highway 101. It's a popular place for harvesting clams and oysters, and scuba divers like it for its easy access. The park has a reservable picnic shelter.

The area where Potlatch State Park is now located was known as "Enetai" (meaning "beyond") to the Skokomish Indian Tribe. The Indians set their winter villages here and held potlatches in the area. The park is named in honor of the potlatch, a gift-giving ceremony. Later, the property became the Minerva Resort, with cabins and hotel. A sawmill that once sat on the site was destroyed by fire.

This is a first-come, first-served park. No reservations are available.

Twanoh State Park

The park's main campground is closed this summer while a failed septic system is replaced with a new treatment system, though a group camp with vault toilets is open. The park has 3,000 feet of saltwater shoreline. The name of the park comes from the Twana tribes, better known as the Skokomish, who made their home in the area. The park is located on one of the warmest saltwater beaches in the state. It's located on the south shore of Hood Canal, eight miles west of Belfair.

Belfair State Park

This 63-acre park three miles west of Belfair has nearly 4,000 feet of saltwater shoreline and is on the southern end of Hood Canal. The park has a large playing field for sports and a little unguarded swimming hole. It is one of the larger parks on Hood Canal with 137 tent sites. The park offers interpretive displays on shellfish, water quality and the life cycle of salmon.

The park, noted for its saltwater tideflats and wetlands with wind-blown beach grasses, was a central meeting place for generations of the Skokomish tribe and was later used as a log dump.

Scenic Beach State Park

This park is rustic and secluded. It's located near Seabeck, Kitsap County, about seven miles west of Silverdale, off Highway 3. The park has 1,500 feet of saltwater beachfront on Hood Canal and is known for its wild, native rhododendrons and views of the Olympic Mountains. The park has 52 tent spaces.

The narrow channel here provides a prime spot for viewing birds and flocks of waterfowl, and gulls sometimes form large flotillas in the channel or off the tip of the park.

The park was originally developed as a homesite, then as a scenic resort owned by Joe Emel Sr. Emel House was built in 1911. The park was purchased by the state in three parcels over a 17-year period.

The Emel House, a rentable day-use heritage place, has a gazebo and country garden. The facility includes a small kitchen and spacious living room with a fireplace. Rates vary with size of the group. For information or reservations, call 360-830-5079.

Kitsap Memorial State Park

This park, six miles north of Poulsbo off Highway 3, is the only state park on Hood Canal that rents cabins.

The 58-acre park has nearly 2,000 feet of saltwater shoreline and features a large grassy field. Stairs lead down to a beach littered with oyster shells. The park has 28 tent spaces.

The park also has facilities for wedding receptions, family reunions and company picnics. There's also the Hospitality House, a historic cabin with a bedroom and kitchen available for overnight stays. For information or reservations, call 360-779-3205.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com