Wrapping Up Our Month in Sunny Sequim, WA

We've had a great month in Sequim; the weather has been amazing, warmer than we ever expected to experience on the Olympic Peninsula. Several days reaching into the 80's, making us glad there are trails in the forest or along the water to keep us cool.

If you read this blog regularly you know we like to hike almost every day. We've hiked an amazing variety of trails during our stay in Sequim, but quite a few of them have entailed a drive of 20 miles or more, one way. Some days we just didn't feel like driving much so here's a summary of the local trails we hiked (or biked) around Sequim (some have been described in detail in my previous three Sequim posts).

Sequim Area Local Trails

Dungeness Recreation Area. A few miles of bluff and forest trails plus miles of beach hiking. Lighthouse nuts (Suzanne and Paul & Nina qualify) can hike all the way to New Dungeness Lighthouse via the 5 mile long Dungeness Spit trail...or go part way if you just want a lovely beach walk. Check the tides first though or it could be rough going.

Robin Hill Farm County Park. 3.5 miles of trails in the forest at the West end of Sequim.

Olympic Discovery Trail. Many miles of paved multi-use trail that passes through Sequim. Much of the trail that passes through Sequim is along highway 101 or through the busy middle of town, so not really conducive to a peaceful walk or bike ride. The portion of trail West of town is the best for a pleasant walk/run/ride in rural countryside. The ODT is accessible via a short walk from our RV park, the John Wayne Waterfront Resort, where we could make a nice loop of 4 - 5 miles by including W. Sequim Bay Rd. as part of the loop.

Marlyn Nelson County Park, aka Port Williams Beach. Located at the end of Port Williams Rd, this lovely little park is a lesser known place to access the beach, especially at low tide. You can walk North to view the Strait or South to see where a spit from Miller Peninsula creates the small opening to Sequim Bay.

We watched a young boy feed this adorable little goat along the Olympic Discovery Trail West of town.

Moving on to how we spent our final days in this beautiful area...

We actually got out on the water during our stay. Our RV park is across the street from Sequim Bay and the John Wayne Marina. Right on the docks is a small vendor renting kayaks and stand up paddle boards, so on our final day with Angela and Debbie we rented kayaks for a couple of peaceful hours of paddling on the Bay.

Admiring the boats in the marina as we head for the Bay.

Happy Hans!

Another day I took our neighbors inflatable kayak out and came across two harbor seals who were as curious about me as I was about them.

I managed to catch one checking me out!

One day we drove West about 30 miles to Salt Creek Recreation Area. This lovely county park offers some very nice camping, with both dry sites in the woods, and water/electric sites on the bluff. There are a couple miles of trails, a world war II bunker, plus tidepools and beach walking along Crescent Bay on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

When we first arrived the tide was low and the fog was fairly thick.

Beach walkers were ghostly...

Heading up on the bluff we found the abandoned bunker which you can drive through.

And got another view of the sea stack as the fog faded away.

Our last really big hike in this area was a doozy: Grand Valley Loop in Olympic National Park. Recommended to us by our Washington friends, Bill and Christine, this was a gorgeous, strenuous lung buster of a hike that took us through lush green valleys sprinkled with summer flowers, across numerous tiny streams and big, rushing, tumbling creeks, past two sub alpine lakes, and up some extremely steep mountainsides that offered spectacular views.

The road to the trail head offers amazing views of the Olympic Mountains.

Not far from the trail head the trail drops steeply into Badger Valley.

Badger Valley is laced with flowers and streamlets and we weave in and out of lush forest as we continue our descent.

Crossing Badger Creek.

Grand Lake really was Grand!

Moose Lake was equally beautiful.

Then it was time to climb out of the valley...

This trail goes up, seriously UP!

The top is finally in sight!

A look back into the valley we climbed out of, now in shadow.
At this elevation the mountain ranges have multiplied with spiky peaks in the distance.

Big smiles atop Lillian Ridge, along with some August snow remnants!

Sequim turned out to be a lovely place to spend a month. We've had plenty to do with a variety of terrains (beach, prairie, forest, mountains), good shopping options (Sunny Farms is an awesome grocery store, there's a Costco too), and we enjoyed several fun meetups as well. It's easy to see why Sequim is a popular retirement destination, with its prime location in the Olympic Rainshadow.

Next up, we head to the West side of Olympic National Park and spend a week in Forks, WA...more forest and beach time coming up!

Last, but not least, I want to give a shout out on a new product made by a friend of ours: Chili Hellion, a smoked habanero powder. If you like spicy and smokey give it a try...we tried it on steak and loved it and the spicy Bloody Mary described on the website sounds delicious! I also made a charred fresh corn and feta salad dressed with a combo of blood orange olive oil and a dash of this spice that was very good. Check it out: www.chilihellion.com

Driftwood masquerading as a sea star along the Dungeness Spit.