Rainbow Falls, Long Beach & Cape Disappointment State Park

Some days we visit just one park, other days we cram a whole bunch into one day. On this particular trip, we ventured to three different areas and made it one long fun-filled day.

Our first stop was at Rainbow Falls State Park. It had been years since I’d visited this park, long before the original bridge over the river had been washed out, so that finding the park entrance took a little more time. Once we parked and began to explore the park’s day use area, memories flooded back to me of my visits there as a kid when we would stay in the campground. We quickly made our way to the river, after first stopping to get a look at a relic…a phone booth. The phone is missing and I don't believe the paper phone book was in the binder, but the booth was such an odd sight in the middle of the greenery at the park and seeing it just made me smile. 

The river walk was fun and the river was beautiful. We made our way down to the water to walk along the rocks and in the water and we also moved along the trail for more views of the river. Jozee enjoyed both the trail and a walk in the shallow areas of the river. The trail was easy and just enough for what we were looking for as a way to stretch our legs before hitting the road again. 

Our next stop was Long Beach, another area I hadn’t visited for quite some time. The beach is like any other Washington beach and this day was like many…cloudy and cool. But we enjoyed a walk along the boardwalk and in the sand and also had fun watching some pretty spectacular kites being flown by beachgoers that day. 

         

When we were ready to head indoors, we visited Marsh’s Free Museum, a tourist trap of the best kind. I’ve never been to Long Beach without also visiting this store. The museum is filled to the brim with your beach-related gift and souvenir items and so much more. It’s full of funky antiques and curios, to include antique arcade games and photo viewing machines, and oddities like Jake the alligator Man. It is a full-fledged curiosity shop and worth a visit. Jozee waited outside while we took turns exploring the store…I don’t think dogs were allowed inside but I also don’t know what she would have thought about some of the stuffed animals they have inside the store! 

After Long Beach we took a trip to Cape Disappointment State Park. Again, this is a park I’ve been to before but it’s been awhile and this was our first time with a pup tagging along. The park is very dog friendly and we enjoyed hiking up the trailhead past the lighthouse keeper's residence, Deadmans Hollow and an old bunker before we arrived at the North Head Lighthouse. Jozee met another pup along the way and they became fast friends. 

   

    

The weather was still cloudy when we arrived at the lighthouse but it began to clear up so that we were able to enjoy the surrounding views before we ventured back down the hill. The views from above by the lighthouse are truly beautiful on a clear day.

One note I should make is that this visit to Cape Disappointment was pre-Covid…I believe some of the park and access to the lighthouse is closed until further notice. However, when it opens up again, it’s definitely worth the visit if you haven’t had the chance yet.

We thought we were done for the day when we found another beach area nearby we’d never visited before. It’s called Waikiki Beach and it was a fun find. We had a different view of the lighthouse from across the water, rocks to explore, beach to access and it’s a beautiful beach cove with cliffs on one side and regular waves I imagine surfers often enjoy. We didn’t venture any further in to check out any trails the park might offer since it was so late in the day, which only means we have a reason to go back to this park someday.

Washington State has a beautiful coastline and while a visit to the beach is often cloudy and windy, you might get lucky with blue skies and sunshine to match the wonderful views. Since the weather can vary, it just gives you a reason to go back for another visit.

Tolmie State Park

    

Tolmie State Park is a great local park we have access to in our corner of the PNW. With three miles of hiking trails in beautiful forested land, as well as access to the beach and saltwater marsh, Jozee gave it 4 paws.

We hit the hiking trails first and really enjoyed the boardwalks and bridges, bunnies and birds and so many large beautiful trees! 

The forest in this park really is beautiful.

        

When we finally made our way down to the beach, we used the long boardwalk to get there. It made for a grand entrance. 

 

The tide was out which gave Jozee many smells and sights to see. We had to watch out for the crabs and sand dollars though, which were everywhere so that we had to watch our step. Low tide also means a large amount of seaweed left behind on the beach so we had two reasons to watch our step: not only for wildlife hiding underneath but also so we didn’t slip and fall! I regretted only wearing sandals so that I had to go barefoot rather than wear my water socks...seaweed in the toes is not a fan favorite.

          

Jozee was extremely curious about the crabs, but we made sure she didn’t get too close. A nip to the nose would have really spoiled the day! 

 

But she managed quite well and if she wasn’t sniffing out crabs, she was having a ball digging in the sand.

       

Tolmie also has an underwater scuba park, which I expect must be a treat for underwater enthusiasts, but it’s obviously not an experience you can partake in if you have pets with you.

Overall, this is a nice day park to visit, especially on a beautiful day when you can take advantage of the views across the Puget Sound.

Forest Park in Portland, OR (and the Witch's Castle too!)

After reading about the Wildwood Trail at Forest Park in Portland, Oregon, I knew we had to check it out. With a 28-mile trail that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to walking and hiking options, I was more than happy to head down to Portland, our favorite Oregon destination, in order to visit the park.

We weren’t sure what to expect but quickly discovered this popular trail needed more parking options (difficult given the fact that the trailhead is right next to a residential area). We were fortunate when we spotted some visitors heading out of the trail and back to their vehicle. We unabashedly stalked them and immediately took over their parking spot when they drove away.

Once we entered the trail, we were immediately embraced by the beauty of it all. The trail itself is wide, thankfully, since you are regularly coming across other hikers, dogs, runners and bicyclists. We learned quickly to keep Jozee very close to us when we rounded corners, as bicyclists could be coming down the hill, not allowing much time to get your furbaby or the leash out of the bicyclist’s way.

There were two things I loved most about this trail:

#1 – The sheer beauty and tranquility of it, even though it was so close to the city. The lush trees offered enough coverage to hush out the signs of city life just outside the borders of the forest and there was no limit to the many shades of beautiful greenery offering enough cover from the sun to make a long walk more manageable.

#2 – I love, love, love the dog-friendly residents of Portland. Whether another hiker had a dog or not, this trail was a great opportunity for Jozee to meet many new friends, as it was rare for another hiker not to want to stop to give her some attention. And if the hiker also had a dog, well then, there was even more of an opportunity to make a new friend.

I don’t recall how far down this trail we actually went before we turned around to head back to our vehicle. We might have spent the whole day on the Wildwood Trail except for the fact that we were also on a mission to visit the Witches Castle (or at least I was). So we split up the day between the two items on our itinerary.

We drove to Macleary Park, took some time to figure out where to park and eventually found the Lower Macleary Trail. This is a pretty walk, with a narrow trail running down the hill and then alongside a creek once you meander down to the lower level. Once we made our way up from the creek and over a slight ridge, we finally came across the Witch's Castle.

This beautiful old stone building was a little on the small side, but did not disappoint when it came to letting my imagination run away with thoughts about when and who ever used this building.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was actually built as a ranger station and restroom for hikers many years ago and was eventually abandoned. 

Why was it abandoned? 

One story I read indicated hikers were spooked by possible supernatural events (toilets flushing by themselves). Another explanation was that it was badly damaged in a storm. Regardless of why it’s now an abandoned building, it would be an eerie place to visit in the middle of the night.

This was a wonderful day trip and a fun experience with Jozee and we hope to visit the Wildwood Trial every year as our schedule allows it. 

Until then, on to the next jaunt!