Within the last three years of living in Kitsap County, I have come to find a few beach favorites close by our new home. We live on the Port Orchard/ Olalla border nestled in between Gig Harbor and Port Orchard proper, the same distance going in either direction. After exploring around our local area, I’ve come to discover a few favorites that my little family enjoys.
The first is Anderson Point Co Park. This gem of a beach is what I consider the best of both worlds. A hiking path through the woods that wends its way to a beautiful beach. Before moving to Kitsap County and the Olympic Peninsula, what I admired most about some of the hiking trails around Seattle was the living rainforest that we experienced in places like Mukilteo and Edmonds, WA. You would walk the trails and almost feel the forest breathe along with you. I would observe the hanging mosses and bustling ferns, walking in awe of the diversity of the forest that we experience here in the Pacific Northwest. Anderson Point Co Park has that same type of feel. There is a winding path that goes from a high point and wends its way to the beachfront. The walk is very peaceful, with the same scenery of hanging mosses and living ferns that you would find on the other side of the sound. Once you arrive at the bottom, there is a small sandy clearing and a short path to a beautiful beach with soft, tanned sand. This beach very much reminds me of the beaches I grew up with back on Long Island, NY. It’s perfect for little babies and toddlers to play, quiet and quaint, great for dogs to play fetch, and you have the lovely scenery of the water. If bringing your infant, I would recommend bringing a hiking carrier. If bringing small children, I recommend a heavy-duty wagon as the walk is fairly long.
The next beach my family and I often visit is Manchester Beach. This small beach is very low-key, located in the hamlet of Manchester, near the pier and close to the Kitsap County Library. The sand is soft, and the tide often has an ebb current. It’s enjoyable when the beach has a receding water line because several different types of marine life reside along the pier and around the pilings. As mentioned, the sand is very soft, which makes it enjoyable to sit and play, building sandcastles. Don’t forget to bring buckets and shovels! There is a water drain under the pier that creates a “river” leading to the waterline. Many young kids sail boats down this river, along with other beach toys. Typically, you can find a lot of people at this beach with kids of similar ages (infant to around 10 years old), which makes for a fun day of making friends and playing with others. Above the walkway to the pier, there is a grassy lawn area with concrete tables and benches, along with umbrellas for shade and a small gazebo. It’s perfect for days when you want to pack a family lunch and hang out for a while.
We also really like the small beach to the side of Wauna bridge in Gig Harbor, WA, also known as the Purdy Spit! I visited this beach a lot when my son was a toddler and I was pregnant with my other son. It’s a great beach to have valuable teaching moments of marine life, sight-see water boats and jet skiers, as well as collect oyster shells and sand dollars. Scattered along the beach are a ton of beautiful and interesting driftwood pieces, which are perfect to find a giant tree trunk to sit on while everyone plays in the water. There is a small Italian restaurant nearby for scenic luncheons on their patio during the summer. I highly recommend the mussels in white wine sauce appetizer (it can be doubled for a lunch portion), and their spaghetti and meatball dish is toddler-approved. There is the Local Boys open market where you can find fresh fruit, intriguing plants, as well as some small artisan eatery items like marmalade and honey sticks. It is an interesting place to stroll through, and you can grab some nice things to curate a picnic for the family. In the same parking lot, resides a delicious taco truck and a Thai food restaurant if your bellies are aching for food after your expedition on the beach. There is also a new brewery I have yet to taste and experience, but I am looking forward to doing so this summer with my husband!
The last beach that we go to fairly often is the small roadside beach near Olalla Bay Market off Crescent Valley Rd SE. It is a pocket-sized beach when the tides are high, but when they are low enough, the view is fabulous. The beach has a mix of rocks and sand, so typically not very fun to hang out at to dig sandcastles but definitely nice for a short stop for seashell collecting, getting out into the open air, or just exploring in general. The Olalla Bay Market is said to be open again, and I look forward to visiting their establishment after the unfortunate fire they experienced last August.
I have taken my son to these beaches time and time again because they’re small and quiet with not a ton of foot traffic to worry about. There’s ample marine life, beautiful scenery, and they are all within close driving distance to where I am located so if needed, I can be home quickly. I am excited to bring my son again and introduce my daughter this summer for all her firsts, and hopefully, we will all make some friends while we are out there!
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