Squaxin Park
Olympia, WA
Squaxin Park, renamed from Priest Point Park by Olympia City Council in 2022 to honor the Squaxin Island Tribe, is the city's oldest and largest park, established in 1905 with a mile of tidal shoreline on Budd Inlet plus Ellis Cove. The beach here is more tidal and estuarine than a swim spot, secondary to the forested Ellis Cove Trail that loops through the park.
Historic and scenic with real trail appeal, though the beach itself is secondary to the forest and shoreline walk.
How we score beachesCome for the trail and the forest as much as the beach; the shoreline here is genuinely more about the walk than getting in the water.
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