Tolmie State Park

Belted Kingfisher, Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher! And so my birding went when I visited Tolmie State Park the morning of the 25th of June 2020. I arrived in the 9:00 a.m. hour and parked at the upper parking lot by the entrance to the park. There is a second parking lot further down the road once inside the park that is closer to the beach.

By the upper parking lot there is a restroom building, covered picnic area, and abundant picnic tables with grills interspersed in the woods. There is also an area with benches facing the water in an amphitheater-esque seating style. In my exploring this area I found some cool plants including foxglove plants with cusped blossoms. A Goldfinch flitted across my path and made a getaway before I could get a picture of it. Fun to see the state bird in a state park!

Making my way down the trail to the beach was quiet, and I was pleased to see that it was high tide when I arrived at the waterfront. Walking along the waterfront I notice what looked like a Kingfisher so I decided to approach and see if it was. Indeed it was! Slowly I waded out in the water along a muddy part and realized the mud was teeming with crabs. I was careful to watch where I stepped so as not to smoosh any of them. Once I reached the Kingfisher (a Belted Kingfisher specifically) it flew off across the spit of land I came across to get to it. I watched where it landed on a tree branch and then followed the Belted Kingfisher.

The Belted Kingfisher was along the creek that flows to the Puget Sound at high tide, at low tide the creek dissipates. Another Belted Kingfisher arrived and they both started diving in the water for fish and other food. Turning my head left I noticed a Heron in the water and waded back out in the water to join it.

After wading around with the Heron for a while I made my way back towards where the first Belted Kingfisher had perched to watch for food in the water. The tide was going out as I was wading with the Heron and making my way to the perch. The crabs were not happy about this. The ground glistened with movement, not sunlight, and there were 100s to 1000s of tiny crabs running to take shelter under the seaweed, in the mud, and yes trying to pinch my feet and legs. As I neared some crabs they would burrow backwards into the mud, put their pinchers up, and open them... I was careful not to step there.

Eventually I made it back to the Belted Kingfisher perch and what did I find?! Not one, but two Belted Kingfishers watching the water!! So very cool. After admiring them for a little bit I started making my way back to my car. The beach and the parking lot by the beach were starting to get busy, so it was my time to go. A perfect morning adventure in the Puget Sound area.

Last time I visited was in the summer when the water had really receded. It was lovely, but dry. This current visit was in the winter so the tide was high. We walked down to the beach and my niece had a fun time scooping up sea life from the sand and she found things like baby crab legs and shellfish so we got to talk about what was in the water. People were kinda standing around or taking pictures since Mt. Rainier is in the distance, since there's nowhere to sit to relax. There are lots of signs telling you to respect private property, so I imagine the residents get frustrated when people wander over the line, but that's what you get if your property is right next to a state park. The path over was nice, with netting on slippery spots and there are a couple of Pokemon Gyms and Pokestops so its a pretty good place to play. Just be mindful that they require you to carry your trash out of the park with you, so there's nowhere to leave your dog poop bags if your pup does his business. We obediently took our stuff with us, but I wonder how many people don't honor the request.

We got clams! Easy to park and plenty of spread out space for people.

Great place to walk around take the dog for a walk, enjoy the outdoors get some fresh air

Visiting from out of town. Beautiful, very short walk to beach. Lots of people clamming and walking along the shore. Shaded picnic benches. A great place to eat lunch and take a walk.

Great park along the water! We were in the area for a long weekend but had limited time we could visit this particular park, so I wish we had had more time to explore the trails here. Based on some other reviews saying low tide is a good time to visit if you want to find sand dollars I checked the tide schedule and made sure we were there around low tide. Sure enough, there were several sand dollars, both dead & alive, on the beach (the live ones will still have brines on them). The restroom facilities near the beach were clean, too.

You will need a DiscoverPass or pay the $10 day-use fee (a DiscoverPass is only $30 for a year & good at all Washington State Parks that require a fee, so well worth the price).

Beautiful waterfront park.
Trails, rocky beach, nice views across the water.
Some picnic areas and a clean restroom near the beach area.
Get a Go Pass or pay the $10 day use fee.
Small parking lot near the beach area. Maybe 15-20 cars can park in this spot. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. We usually go on a weekday and never been a problem. We take our dog with us which is allowed. As long as they are on leash.

This is our second time visiting Tolmie, and we liked it a lot - just as much as last time. It's pretty close to the main drag in Lacey, which is great for hungry kids post-hiking and swimming.

I highly recommend going early for a couple reasons:
1. The parking lots (2) fill up super fast
2. You want to be there when the tide is out at least once.

When the tide goes out, you'll find yourself in sand dollar Mecca! We left with about 50...dead ones, mind you. You'll also see thousands of live ones (you can tell bc they're black and covered in spines.) I digress.

The hiking trails are easy and well-marked. Kid and dog-friendly. $10 for a day pass, or do yourself a favor and just buy a yearly Discover Pass for $35 which is good at a ton of the parks.

How to get a walk on the Sound when houses make so much of the beaches private? Tolmie state park is how!

This is a large day park with a wide beach near the Nisqually Delta. You can pay $10 a day to use it, or better yet - buy a $30 Discover Pass beforehand and it's good all year at all state parks with no maximum visits.

From the upper parking lot, there is a very steep, but paved, trail down. From the lower parking lot is a more reasonable trail for old buggers like me and young families.

There are picnic tables and bar-b-q pits on the upper levels. There also is a party building that is available to reserve and rent.

The gravel beach is quite flat. At low tide, there are tide pools and lots of little crabs to look at. It's a bit "muddy" but fun. I'm told as the tide comes in, these tidelands that have been in the sun, warm the water for perfect splashing about.

All-in-all, a Puget Sound gem perfect for all ages !

Fantastic state beach on the Puget sound!

We walked to this beach from the house we were staying at everyday.
Nice to hike into this location without having to pay for daily parking of $10.

Very unique, quiet, and relaxing beach.

Kids love it for the multitude of marine life.

Perfect for fishing, clamming, oyster gathering, mussel gathering, and crab catching.

This is the only beach in the south Puget Sound that has clean waters all year for safe consumption of clams, oysters, and crabs....

We ate a huge feast one night after gathering up fresh seafood from this beach.

Just make sure you have a WA Shellfish or combination license on hand plus a catch record card for Puget crabs - the game warden visits quite frequently!