Priest Point Park & Burfoot County Park

You don’t have to travel far from home to find great parks to enjoy with your pup…

Ellis Cove Trail

Jozee enjoying the view

Priest Point Park:

Priest Point Park is easily accessible and in a location not far from downtown Olympia, close to the marina and on the shore of Puget Sound at Budd Inlet and Ellis Cove. The trails are well maintained and a nice little hike, especially the Ellis Cove Trail, where Jozee enjoys taking a break while we have a snack. My favorite photo on one particular day is when she was gazing out at the water from the top of the bluff while we were taking a break. It really is a wonderful trail with a beautiful view. 

Beach at Budd Inlet

At the end of the trail we gain access to the beach, a nice area to walk with plenty of trees close to the shoreline if you find yourself in need of shade. We enjoy the view and Jozee enjoys playing around in the water before we head back to the trailhead.









On one particular day while we were walking this trail, Jozee met another young pup who looked like a young Husky she enjoyed playing with when she spent time at doggy daycare. When the two of them began to move toward each other, very intent on interacting, we finally determined with the owners at the other end of the leash that this was in fact her playmate at the daycare.

It’s a small world, even for dogs.

Ellis Cove Trail

The only negative we found while visiting Priest Point Park is when we accessed the water using the short trail on the south side of the park and had to walk in the mud flats at low tide. The mud flats are, well, muddy. They are also slick and slimy and after trying to maneuver through them just once, that was enough for me. I prefer the beach area further north where we access it from the Ellis Cove Trail and where the rocky shore gives us more traction.

Burfoot County Park:

While I had visited Priest Point even before Jozee, I had never taken the time to drive further along East Bay Drive to discover what might lie beyond. Since I’m always on the lookout for new parks to visit with Jozee, we finally ventured out that way and were pleasantly surprised with Burfoot County Park. 

A huge field where dogs can play fetch is close to a large playground area for kids and surrounding that field are multiple entrances where you can begin your walk either through the nearby woods or down the trail toward to the beach. 

The difference between this beach compared to the Ellis Cove Trail access is that there isn’t much in the way of shade. However, some days we have the beach to ourselves, at least for a short time period, and there are benches just above the beach where you can sit and enjoy the view for awhile. While on the beach we look for little crabs under rocks, spot evidence of what lies beneath based on holes in the sand and Jozee’s reaction to water squirting up at her when she stood over the holes was priceless.

Both parks have their own perks and both have become local favorites whenever we want to visit the water but have to stay close to home.

Jozee met a little friend