Riffe Lake and Swofford Pond

Riffe Lake and Swofford Pond are both located near Mossyrock in Lewis County, a large county with many acres to explore. When we head out to the Mossyrock area, usually during blueberry season and for the Blueberry Festival, we make a point of visiting Mayfield Lake, especially one of our favorite parks we discovered last year, Ike Kinswa State Park.

But on this particular day, we decided to venture further past Mossyrock to explore parts of Riffe Lake and the surrounding area. And when I say only parts of the lake, I mean it because Riffe Lake is over 23 miles long. After the long drive and some exploring, we wanted to take a break and were thrilled to discover a quiet, cozy place to stretch our legs and eat lunch at an out-of-the-way rest stop near the Mossyrock Dam.

Jozee has a ton of energy but even she couldn’t deny the relaxing atmosphere we had all to ourselves was nice.

Once we were well rested, we explored more of the area around the lake and saw a sign for Swofford Pond. Curious, we drove the short distance to the pond, which we quickly discovered was a favorite fishing pond. There were multiple areas along the pond where someone could park, sit along the shore and throw out a line and there were also quite a few boats out on the water. Later after reading up on Swofford Pond, it appears to be home for a large variety of fish, even sturgeon, although it’s a rare find.

We drove around the lake, over a bridge and spotted access to the Swofford Pond trailhead. It was a nice, easy walk through grass, brush and trees, over creeks, through tight trails and wide open areas. It was a nice “jaunt.”

However, as we were leaving, we spotted a sign for yet another trail on the other side of the bridge on the road. This hiking-biking trail goes through Swofford Flats to Riffe Lake and it all but invited us to stay and explore. Too bad we had neared the end of the day and had to get back on the road.

Not only did we have another fun day exploring beautiful areas not too far from home, we have another new trail we can visit and explore some day.

Frye Cove County Park

Frye Cove County Park is another county park we heard about after we began exploring areas around our PNW location. The park is located off Ed Inlet, which isn’t an area we’ve explored much so it was a nice break from the usual parks around Budd Inlet.

 

  

Frye Cove is a pretty place to visit for a nature walk through beautiful forest and some playtime on the beach. Before you head out on the trails, there's a playground, picnic tables and a few shelters, so for those inclined to bring snacks or a lunch, it's also a nice area to picnic. The picnic area was a bit overgrown when we visited but the trails were nicely kept and the walk through the woods was peaceful and full of lush green vegetation.

There’s a view while you’re on the trail of the water and the mountain beyond. It’s also a nice place to just sit and enjoy the moment.

Yet another beautiful local park we can visit when we want to get away from it all, but don’t want to travel too far to get there.