Ike Kinswa State Park

Jozee as a wee one, just shy of 6 months

Have you ever visited an area multiple times and not bother to explore the surrounding areas? 

That’s just the case with us when it came to Mayfield Lake, located near Mossyrock in Lewis County. We would always end up at Mayfield Lake Park, more likely because it was easy access off of Hwy 12 for a day on the lake, especially if we were boating.

We’d explore the shores somewhat when boating while heading out on whatever excursion or activity was planned that day, but that was about it.

Until we introduced Jozee to the family and I got it in my head that we were going to do things differently with her than with our other dogs. We were going to get out with her more often and we were going to EXPLORE!

Ike Kinswa SP & Mayfield Lake

Now, in our defense, we always had multiple dogs, usually 3 or 4 at a time and they were big dogs so getting out with them to see the sights just wasn’t an easy task. On top of that, one of them in particular was very large, very protective and she didn’t play well with others. For anyone reading this who is just now contemplating what type of dog they might like to get, please take into account your lifestyle and the time and ability you’ll have to properly train and spend time with your new pet. If I knew then what I know now, I would have looked into early training not only for her, but also for myself.

Fast forward to today and we still have one of our large dogs but she’s up there in age (almost 11 years young) and doesn’t like to get out unless it’s on our property. Yes, there are dogs who don’t enjoy car rides! But Jozee is quite the opposite. She loves car rides. She loves just the idea that we’re going someplace. And she loves exploring, whether it’s in a familiar area or a brand-new spot.

Trail at Ike Kinswa SP

I guess we’re lucky Jozee likes car rides and meeting people, because what would have happened if I’d gotten it in my head to explore more only to discover she got car sick and was scared of new people?

Thankfully, that’s not the case.

So, back to the lake. Jozee was still pretty young, about six months old, the first time we decided to head out to Mayfield one beautiful day in May of last year. We thought we’d venture out and try a new park and we scored big time with our choice when we took a detour on State Route 122 in order to visit Ike Kinswa State Park.

The park had plenty of shaded parking, easy access to the shore, well-maintained trails and beautiful views on both sides of the shoreline. The fact that you had two shorelines to choose from was great; you could choose between more sun or more shade, calmer water or lapping waves formed by nearby boats. The beach areas had a lot of bigger rocks, so we had to stay vigilant, but it didn’t take away from Jozee’s fun. The real test was my overprotective mommy instincts when I realized how quickly the water dropped from a foot to…I didn’t even want to venture a guess. I just wasn’t brave enough to allow her to explore the deep beyond and she thankfully didn’t seem to want to go anywhere her feet couldn’t touch.

I had Jozee on a tight leash, just in case
she did decide to brave the deep part

Given Jozee’s young age, the easy trail walk was great and we explored the whole area, except for the swimming beach which doesn’t allow dogs. Other than that, this park was very dog friendly. Exploring the campground was enjoyable too because the campsites were all very nice and the cabins nearby the swimming area were a great addition. We made a game of choosing our favorite campsite if we were to stay there and it was very difficult; like looking for the perfect Christmas tree, only to find yet another perfect tree in the next batch.

Enjoying some shade

We enjoyed this park so much we returned a few months later in the summer and it has become our new favorite go-to whenever we visit Mayfield Lake.

In Jozee's book, it was a good day