Brinnon, WA - a small town that hugs a good stretch of the northwest shore of the Hood Canal.
Where & What is the Hood Canal? "It's a Fjord, forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins, of Puget Sound. Hood Canal is not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway—it is a natural waterway."
A pretty cool combination
Brinnon's location is pretty great with forests running all along one side and the ocean on the other. You can head out into old growth forest for some hiking and waterfalls in the morning and then do some paddling in the afternoon sun. The area is covered in oyster reefs and attracts an amazing variety of wildlife. We saw eagles and herons every day. It's very remote so if you are planning to visit make sure you stock up on what you need as it takes a bit to get to the nearest grocery store.
The most incredible aspect of this area for us was the ability to see/enjoy an enormous amount ocean marine life with the benefit of super calm water. We could look straight down from the kayak and see all sorts of things like the largest jellyfish we'd ever seen, star fish, a variety of crabs, sea cucumbers, fish, seals, crustaceans of all kinds and things we couldn't even identify! One evening I paddled out, and while floating quietly, found myself surrounded by seals. They were popping up all around to look at me and get on the surrounding rocks. It was magical.
The views from Mt. Walker
Our favorite things:
Mt. Walker Viewpoint - Drive to the top (you can also hike it) for spectacular views on a clear day.
Dosewallips State Park - A large park with 5 miles of shoreline, lots of oyster reefs and wildlife.
Rocky Brook Falls Trail - Great short hike to see waterfall
Kayaking/paddling - get on the water!
Sunsets
Murhut Falls - Gorgeous, magical area of cascading waterfalls surrounded by old forest.
Wildlife watching - Just so much variety here.
Watching people dig for oysters.
Gallery of Pics
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