Stewart’s Memorial Park (Aberdeen, WA)

The Stewart Memorial Park in Aberdeen is a park I had never heard of and would never have known about if I hadn’t read about it. The only reason we ever go through the city of Aberdeen is when we’re on our way to the beach. Other than stopping for coffee or lunch or dinner on the go, we usually just breeze through Aberdeen and Hoquiam, intent on getting as much time at the beach as we can.

But on this particular day on our way to Ocean Shores and Pacific Beach, we thought we might check out the park we read about. It wasn’t easy to find, since directions we tried to obtain via GPS helped us bypass the park and end up lost in a residential neighborhood (a resident there told us it happens often). 

I wonder if this may be due to the confusion about the name of the park, which I tried to verify after the fact. I read about this park when it was referred to as both the Joseph Stewart Park and also Stewart’s Memorial Park. The Aberdeen park website also calls it Stewart’s Memorial Park but a brochure you can download from that same site refers to it as the James Stewart Memorial Park. 

A little confusing, to be sure.

Eventually, we did find the right road, the right turns and finally the park. It seemed like a basic park, at first, with a grassy area, a playground, and a picnic shelter. After letting Jozee sniff around a bit while we stretched our legs, we looked beyond the basic park amenities and spotted an entrance to a trail.

And then we disappeared into a wonderland…

This trail was beautiful, enjoyable and just the right length when you have limited time to spare. It’s only a mile long but the lushness of this forest and the varying types of walking platforms made you slow down to take stock not only in the beauty but also your footing as you moved along. 

Majestic trees, giant stumps, climbing ivy and mossy adornments surround a creek, and a nice trail accessorized with bridges, raised boardwalks, and wooden stairs to help you along the way.

It really was a beautiful walk and a nice place to take a break during a long drive.

But then we had to move along. After all, Jozee was going to experience her first time at the beach!