Sea Kayak - Nisqually Delta & Reach

We had a nice spring day for this paddle through the Nisqually Delta.  Saw a lot of birds, including hunting eagles, and a group of seals sunning themselves on a distant patch of marsh.

Tolmie Park is a nice place to launch.  We brought our Discover Pass and kayak wheels.  There was a nice bathroom near the parking lot.

About 30 minutes after launching from Tolmie Park, on the way towards the Nisqually Reach, we took a look at the shipwreck at DeWolf Bight.  Not much left of that wreck, it was mostly submerged and covered with barnacles.  It's marked with a pole and is fairly close to shore near an area that had sailboat masts visible behind a sand bar.

Stopped for a quick break at Luhr Beach then continued south down McAllister Creek.  We paddled about 0.5 nm past the I-5 highway and looked for a place to stop for lunch but there isn't really anywhere in that area that was suitable.  The channel there is deep, too deep to easily get out of your boat, and the banks were steep and muddy.  Also the noise from the highway was not conducive to a nice lunchbreak.  We turned back and headed north up McAllister Creek.  

Along the way there were a number of areas we could have stopped for lunch because they had shallow landing spots but the mud in that area tends to suck your boot down tight and is difficult to walk in.  Fortunately, a couple of people in our party recalled a nice gravel beach so we headed for that.  For reference, that beach is on the west side of McAllister Creek, just a bit south of where the Nisqually boardwalk ends at the gazebo.  It was a fairly large gravel beach, enough room for 12 kayaks.   If the tide is too high to access this beach, Luhr Beach is only a half mile or so beyond this area.

Though it was a little windy in the morning, by the time we came back it was sunny and calm.  A perfect day out sightseeing in the delta!