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Saltwater State Park, Des Moines, WA

Photo: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Saltwater State Park

A 137-acre Puget Sound state park with a sandy beach, tide pools, forest trails, and the state's only underwater artificial reef for divers.

25205 8th Place S, Des Moines, WA 98198 · Des Moines, WA

About Saltwater State Park

Saltwater sits on Puget Sound in Des Moines, a short drive from Interstate 5. The park covers 137 acres of second-growth forest and includes roughly 1,445 feet of saltwater shoreline. Visitors can wade, build sandcastles, or search the rocky tideflats for tide pools. McSorley Creek runs through the grounds, and salmon spawn there in season. Trails wind through shaded woods, and picnic areas sit near the beach or along the creek. Scuba divers come for the artificial reef, which draws sea stars, anemones, rockfish, and other marine life. Some campground areas are closed while projects proceed, so check the park alert before visiting.

  • #beach
  • #tide pools
  • #scuba diving
  • #artificial reef
  • #forest trails

What's around here?

The closest stops to Saltwater State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

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