Saltwater State Park

Imagine a lovely little spot of boondocking sites, down in a little valley, surrounded by hemlock and pines, with a bubbling brook running through it. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

Almost perfect, except that this little state park is directly under the main flight path for SeaTac airport. Coming or going, doesn't matter which way the wind blows, the planes go by in both directions day and most of the night. Conversations outside find a rhythm of "pause for the plane" and then pick back up after the jet engine noise fades to a tolerable level. During the day, playing music helps but at night, earplugs turned out to be the best solution. Good earplugs, the kind that block out a screaming child five feet away on a long-haul flight kind of earplugs.

The campsite itself is old and in need of serious upkeep. The sites are pretty unleveled, and a mix of rocks and grass, to the point where finding a good tent site at some spots is a serious challenge. Thankfully for RV owners, we just have to deal with leveling the rig and then we're sleeping in nice comfy beds and not worried about rocks and dog poop underneath sleeping bags. The restroom facilities are old and worn, and it's a serious effort to push the button for toilet flushing. How old are the restrooms? The thirty-something woman at the site next to me said she's from Burien (a nearby town) and the bathrooms are the same as when she came here as a kid. In the day use area, more than half of the barbecue installations are covered over with plastic and duct tape, as if the park service has admitted defeat and isn't even going to try to keep them up.

The beach itself is lovely, and at low tide, it's amazingly big and full of interesting tide pools. The Sunday I was there was a dead low tide and the Seattle Aquarium volunteers were out in force to show any and all visitors the cool stuff.

The park has one loop trail around the outside, and it's full of ups and downs and cool trees, ferns, and moss, and it is so dense, I would consider it a rain forest. It's a 1.5 mile walk from the park to the marina, and I did that one evening just to get away from the planes and see a bit of the neighborhood.

After three days, I had enough of the jet noise and moved on. While I did like the location and the beach, in the end, the constant planes overhead were just too much and I probably won't be back to this park unless it's the only spot left when I need a Seattle bolt-hole.

Sites 1 and 3 are the best that I saw, the biggest that would fit 30+ footers. The other sites down the lane were more for small trailers and tents. The walk from #1 is a ways to the bathroom but it wasn't bad. We LOVED the planes overhead landing because we love planes. So cool to see a huge 747 fly right over you! We spent many evenings outside in the perfect WA weather listening to music and watching planes land.

The beach is amazing! Amazing sunsets and in the morning you have it all to yourself. They do allow day use of the beach so during the peak hours, the parking lot is full of people. But where we were, we weren't near the noise so it didn't bother us. We didn't use the showers so I am not sure how they were but I did overhear someone say there was no hot water one morning.

If you are an experienced boondocker and don't need the use of the restrooms and showers, this place is awesome!

You do have to drive through neighborhoods to get there and it's difficult because the roads are so hilly. The entrance and exit to the actual park is a tough climb for large rigs so that's the only reason I am giving 4 stars.

Overall, this is a great place to camp and still have great access to explore Seattle and the little coastal towns in between!

Nice location near the water. Small campsite size, good facilities (clean bathrooms/showers). Bit dear for what it was, and the planes flying overhead was noisey, but overall would stay again.

Beautiful park, but a bit pricey for small sites with no hookups. The bathrooms and showers were very clean and there is a dump station at the entrance. Only a couple sites that will accommodate a large rig. Expect regular jet noise because it is in the flight path. The camp host was VERY helpful and friendly.

My partner and I stayed one night in preparation for living a remote van life.

The park itself is beautiful, a forested haven in the city but being close to SeaTac airport, planes are consistently flying over.

There are two adjacent camping areas but the upper one was closed. The lower area is primarily a grass bordered by the first. If you plan to spend time outside at your campsite, bringing a tarp or tent for shade is recommended. With no trees or bushes between sites, there is little to no privacy.

The restrooms and showers are single-person facilities and were some of the cleanest I have ever used in a state park.

As I only live 30 minutes away, I wouldn't choose to vacation here but it would be good for a night or two while traveling.

I’m glad we read the reviews that said only sites 1&3 were best for 30+’ trailers bc it’s true. Idk why the reservation website is so off on the lengths of the campsites. I would guess you could get a 35’ trailer in but anything after that is pushing it and there isn’t much space to turn around at. It is a tight turn to even get into the entrance of the park.
Facilities were very clean! Beach is nice is not too far a walk from the campsite.
It didn’t feel the safest and we even had an incident next to us where a random truck with no tent was parked next to us and a park ranger tried to get his info but he refused then he ran off with what seemed a stolen truck and it was a police chase from there. But we are close to the city where we could easily make a 20 min day trip downtown to explore... so just way out your pros and cons. I read the state park just south isn’t any safer.
Also the gate closes at 9pm but you can still open it if needed on your own.
There is a dump & water near the exit.

Traveling between National Parks and wanting a tourist visit in Seattle, we chose this spot for a quick overnighted. We stayed late June 2022, half the campsites closed. We were able to get 1 of a few FF sites. Place filled up by night. It is cute, placed in a nice park with beach access. Sites adjacent to a creek and nice trail. Bathrooms and showers super clean. Yes, very noisy airplane noise. Planes slow I’m middle of night but uptick in morning/commute hours. Sites were safe and we were surrounded by courteous, clean and quiet neighbors. Close to Pike Place market.

This is an urban state park campground. Signs greet you telling you this is high crime area and you should remove your valuables. About half the camping slots are closed or otherwise unavailable. Rest rooms and showers are clean with the showers free when we were there otherwise available for a fee. Washington Parks seems to do a good job keeping the grounds clean. Park Rangers are frequently driving through.

Now the really bad parts: you are right under flight path for SeaTac airport with planes landing or taking off from early morning (6 am) to late at night (11:30 pm). Plus, our second night we heard two sets of gunfire of multiple shots each time coming from Des Moines, the town outside the park.

DES MOINES, WA – The weather is so much better right now than when I was car camping earlier this year and now it’s time to really get out here and explore. So for this week, we’re back on the road, discovering another great State Park.

“Saltwater State Park” is right between Tacoma and Seattle, which makes it a great stop, if you can get out of town avoiding the traffic AND… you don’t mind airplanes, because it’s in the flight path of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Here’s the 411 on the trip:

I booked my stay for 2 night and after taxes it worked out to be $72.00 or $36.00 dollars per night
Note… I did leave later in the night on my second night. My trip was a Thursday and Friday night and on Friday night, there were a couple of very sketchy folks just outside of the camping area and a couple of more in the park near the water and I just wasn’t sure of the surroundings, so I left between 9pm-10pm
I stayed in site #12… The site was easy to get into, beautiful right next to a creek and although it’s next to the road, it didn’t feel too close to it
Warning, this park is right in the flight path of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and you WILL hear airplanes all day and all night. They stop close to 11p/11:30p it felt like, but then started up again around 5:00am the next morning.
Cell service was great. I was able to use my phone all trip. I have AT&T.
The facilities: The park has 35 campsites, one year round dump station, four restrooms, and two showers. Maximum site length is 50 feet (limited availability).
There are NO primitive sites
I was easily able to book my reservation online at: https://washington.goingtocamp.com/
According the website:

“Saltwater State Park delivers a sandy beach getaway on the edge of Washington’s largest urban area, and the park is only 2 miles from Interstate 5. Set on a stretch of shoreline between Tacoma and Seattle, Saltwater is one of the most popular Washington state parks. While you won’t often have the beach to yourself on a warm summer day, the atmosphere can’t be beat.”

Another interesting State Park, but it is very, very noisy!