| The mouth of the Dosewallips River is a broad, marshy tide flat that is considered one of the most productive public shellfish beds in Washington - locals call it "Dose Flats." On minus tides, visitors can dig native littlenecks here, wrestle geoducks from the muck, shuck oysters and wade for Dungeness crab. Then go back to your campsite along the babbling Dosewallips and feast in true Hood Canal fashion. The park is only 425 acres, but includes 5,500 feet of Hood Canal shoreline, 5,400 feet along the Dosewallips, five miles of hiking/biking trails, one amphitheater, two horseshoe pits, a wildlife viewing platform on the flats, and three futon-equipped platform tents that can be reserved, for roughing it in style. The trail out along the river to the tide flat is just under a mile, but it's pretty and foxes are occasionally spotted. Clam and oyster are popular shellfish that are harvested in the Dosewallips River at Dosewallips State Park. The park is unique in that it offers both freshwater and saltwater activities. All camp areas are grassy and located in scenic, rustic settings. There is a wildlife viewing platform, and vast areas are open for field sports. Freshwater activities are nearby on the banks of the Dosewallips River, and saltwater activities can be found on nearby Hood Canal. There is a watercraft launch seven miles south of the park at Triton Cove State Park. In summer months, a Junior Ranger program is conducted by rangers on Saturday afternoons. Formerly called "Dose Meadows," the flat fields of this park were old homestead sites prior to their existence as a park. Old rail beds are still in place where logs were hauled from the mountains down to the water prior to being floated to their destinations (ships and mills around Puget Sound). |
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