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Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park Property

137

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park Property

east of Lilliwaup, Washington

visited 12 September 2026

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Nestled along the west shore of Hood Canal, Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park is … shall we say … subtly marked, but offers some nice views of the rocky shoreline.

This park starts with a rather nondescript stairway from an unmarked parking lot just north of the village of Lilliwaup.

A wooden boardwalk with metal handrails leads down toward a calm inlet at Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, framed by overhanging tree branches. A concrete pedestal with a bronze plaque sits on the grass to the right, with forested hills and an overcast sky across the water.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

An important caution: This park is entirely tidal. Every guide I read advises you to check the tide charts and time your visit carefully. Given that most of the beach shows signs of barnacles all the way up to the treeline, I echo that advice. Time your visit so you can leave comfortably ahead of a rising tide. I was there for a little more than an hour, which was enough time to hike most of the way up the park property and back while the tide was at its lowest.

The beach, once you get there, is very rocky. Some rocks come with odd graffiti messages.

A pebbly beach along a calm inlet under an overcast sky, with a large boulder painted with black graffiti reading “WE ARE ON TIME.” A weathered driftwood stump and scattered rounded stones sit in the foreground, forested hills rise across the water, and trees line the shore at left.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

The guides describe this as an “easy” hike. I understand how they get there, because there is absolutely no elevation gain other than the stairway, but … walking along the rocks isn’t exactly easy. They’re constantly shifting out from under you, so it’s kind of slow going.

A weathered, gray driftwood log runs diagonally across a beach covered in smooth rounded pebbles and cobbles in shades of gray, brown, and tan. Clusters of small white barnacles cling to the lower end of the log, indicating it sits in the tidal zone.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

A calm, gray inlet under an overcast sky, with a rocky, seaweed-covered shoreline in the foreground. Forested hills line the far shore, and a small waterfront community of houses is visible among the trees on the right.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

A rocky, driftwood-strewn beach along a calm inlet under an overcast gray sky, with a dense stand of conifers and deciduous trees showing early fall color leaning over the shoreline on the left, and low forested hills across the water in the distance.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

This entire park runs immediately parallel to Highway 101. You almost never see the traffic on the highway, but you do always hear traffic. Not especially loudly, but it is a factor when hiking here.

A pebbly tidal beach strewn with weathered driftwood branches, some encrusted with barnacles and dried algae, along with scattered oyster shells and a small clump of reddish-brown seaweed among the gray and tan stones.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

A reddish-brown rock encrusted with clusters of pale barnacles sits amid smoky gray boulders, smooth beach pebbles, and scattered oyster shells on a rocky tidal beach.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

A large greenish-brown beach rock crossed by diagonal mineral veins and dotted with small barnacles, resting among smaller wet pebbles and cobbles with scattered shell fragments on a rocky tidal beach.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

A close-up of dark, weathered rock encrusted with clusters of small pale acorn barnacles, their whitish and greenish shells scattered in vertical streaks across the textured brown surface.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

A close-up of a rocky intertidal zone with a dark gray boulder densely encrusted with barnacles and small snails, while pale cream and yellow oyster shells cluster together in the foreground.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

A rocky tidal beach strewn with smooth gray cobbles, weathered stones, and pale oyster and clam shells, several encrusted with clusters of barnacles and the ringed scars where barnacles once attached. In the center a cream-colored shell fringed with dark purplish-brown ridges rests among the barnacle-covered rocks.

Lilliwaup Tidelands State Park, east of Lilliwaup, Washington

For more information:

AllTrails description

Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail