Picked the perfect winter day for this hike - finally the sun was out!  The description of this hike shows 2.5 miles round trip, but we were able to squeeze in 5 round trip by doing the inner and the outer loop of Penrose Point, then across the street to a few of the campground loops, and finally down to the west side beach (across from Lakebay Marina) and walked the shore back to the main parking area.  The tide was going out all afternoon which made for a nice (but rocky and a little slippery) beach walk. 

This is an easy hike with barely any elevation gain.  The Penrose Point section is very technical (roots) so watch your footing.  It was muddy in a few spots, but surprisingly not a lot considering all the rain and recent snow melt.  Our favorite part was this section - when we came around to the Point, beautiful Mt Tahoma appeared from the fog bank - what a surprise!  And the whole area is so lush green with all the rain. 

I can imagine this spot being very busy with families during the summer months - the cove is calm and the trails are full of (what I refer to as) hidden cubbies in the forest - would be a blast for kids :).

Penrose Point is another great example of one of WA`s beautiful State Parks. 

Spent one night camping at Penrose Point State Park. After wading in the water around Mayo Cove, we had some dinner and decided to see what the trails were like. We hiked out to Penrose Point, and did the loop to go along the shoreline. It was great! The trail was empty (we didn't really start until after 7 pm) and in good condition. Beautiful trees, lovely woodsy smell, and you could feel the cool air coming off the water. When we found access to the water, there were wonderful gnarled trees to scurry over, and clear water to look at. We continued hiking through twilight. The kids and dog loved it. The next morning we took our kayak out on the water. Another amazing state park I didn't know about until now!!

Today SUN 14Mar2021 ~ ~09:30 Swee and i were the 4th "group" to arrive at Penrose Point State Park. LIte drizzle .. and we went for a walk (CCW) on the Trail: parking -> Beach Access -> Shoreline -> parking. Cos the tide was falling, it was possible to traverse on the Shoreline (though please be cautious cos some of the rocks may be slippery).

Along the seashore, we saw lots of we "dun-know-what" shellfish. Moving along, we saw this pair of (probably) Canadian Geese. And after turning around at Penrose Point, we saw this Seagull; it seems to be looking apprehensively at a group of people at the Bay, which got us interested too. We went to Bay, chatted with these people and learnt that they were "Clamming". And one of them helped identified our "dun-know-what" shellfish as Oysters! 😂 

The man then searched around on seashore for an Oyster .. He found one .. and then he showed me how to pry open the Oyster. Next he offered the Oyster that he opened to me .. to eat it fresh. Well, that's too tempting .. and yes - it was yummylicious! 😋 Again, i have to thank him and his family for their kind hospitality and friendliness.

Swee & i then went to chat with another couple (who we later got know as Shaun and Evelyn), they were also "Clamming". And they both also offered us with impromptu lessons on Clamming. Again, thank you Shaun and Evelyn for your kindness, Shellfishing tips and lessons.

Well, Swee is now clamoring to buy/have the WA Fishing and Shellfishing License 😅 

Btw: in case anyone is interested: "Clam and Oyster Season Open Mar01-Apr30"

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Btw, the hiking Trail is in a reasonably good condition. 

Happy Trails Everyone!

Note that there are no state park signs off the main road to turn onto 158th so be sure to pay attention to the street signs. (We had never been to this area so initially missed the turn and had to backtrack ... cell service was also spotty here for us).

Arrived a little after 3 pm and there were about four cars in the east parking lot. Went to the west parking lot and no cars were there so we parked and headed to the beach from that side. 

Lucked out with low tide so we explored tide pools (saw lots of sand dollars that weren't even picked at by seagulls), some tiny crabs and of course lots of oysters, clams and mussels (mostly shells for the latter). Because it was low tide, we were able to easily walk all the way to the east end of the beach, meeting up to the east parking lot side. The beach is rocky, especially at low tide, so I was glad to have worn hiking boots for ankle support/stability on uneven terrain. 

We saw a group (or two?) of people harvesting and shucking oysters on the east end of the park. Not a person in sight where we started on the west end. 

Instead of walking back the same way we came on the beach, we went through the east parking lot and walked the Interpretive Trail back to our car. Trail was not muddy and in great condition. There were little pamphlets at the start that helped describe different plants along the trail. 

In total, we spent about an hour leisurely walking the beach with our pup. Prior to coming to Penrose Point, we had also stopped at Joemma Beach State Park just south. We enjoyed Penrose Point more just because there was more to see at low tide here than at Joemma Beach. Also, note that Joemma Beach looks like it stretches really far but there is a good portion that is actually private shoreline and you're not supposed to walk on. 

Penrose Point is a nice hidden gem!

We hiked a couple of miles starting at the east parking lot. The direct trail to the point was closed, but we saw some teenagers walking on it anyway. We took the long route around and had some stunning views of Mt. Rainier. There were a few damp spots on the trail but these were easily passed around. Well-marked, mostly wide trails including some turnouts to the water.