Never heard of Dugualla State Park? Neither had I. A happy accident while surfing Google Maps pointed me in this direction, and I found a beach and a set of hiking trails popular with the locals, but seemingly unadvertised to the rest of the world.

The thing is, this park isn’t listed on the State Parks web site. (Why? I don’t know.)

And yet, it’s there on Google Maps.

If you dig around enough, it appears legitimately owned by the state. I’m not sure why they don’t publicize it.

The trails are well-groomed. And lead to panoramic forest views like these:

People seem to enjoy the quiet beach on Skagit Bay:

Most people in the park were on the northernmost trail or the trail labeled as “Beach Trail.” I returned via the southern “Big Loop” and saw nobody else in that last half-hour or so of hiking:

For more information:

• State Parks web site (no such listing)
• Washington Trails Association
• AllTrails