Day Hike - Point Defiance Park

This is an easy/moderate all-season hike close to home, with scenery rivaling wilderness hikes. We will hike mainly on the outer (longest) loop trail, marked in blue on the park map and on guideposts, as well as some paved areas. En route, we will pass several viewpoints overlooking different parts of Puget Sound, before stopping at a covered picnic table for our lunch break at Owen Beach. After our lunch we will complete the loop returning to our cars around 1 PM, depending on how long we spend eating lunch. There are restrooms near the meeting place at Ft. Nisqually, at the Gig Harbor Overlook, and at Owen Beach. No parking pass is required. Please wear sturdy waterproof boots since some sections of the trail are muddy. Hiking poles will also be useful.

Although we will stop briefly at the view points en route, this is not a nature walk or a bird watching hike, and thus we will attempt to maintain a pace of around 2.5 mph so that participants get a bit of a workout.

Meet at 9:30 AM at the Fort Nisqually Picnic Shelter, which is near the Fort Nisqually Living History Museum. Please note that due to construction in the park you will need to enter through the Mildred Street entrance and follow the signs to Fort Nisqually. Please give yourself a few extra minutes to accommodate this detour. No parking pass is required. The pre-hike talk will start promptly at 9:30 AM, so please arrive a bit early in order to have time to put on your boots and use the restroom beforehand.  This is not a dog-friendly hike, so please do not bring your dog with you.