Tolmie State Park
Olympia, WA
Tolmie State Park is a 105-acre marine day-use park near Nisqually with 1,800 feet of Puget Sound shoreline, calm enough for wading and swimming by Puget Sound standards. An established underwater park with sunken barges makes it a genuine scuba diving destination, backed by three miles of trails.
The underwater park and artificial reef are a genuinely distinctive hook, calm water and real trails back it up.
How we score beachesDivers specifically come for the sunken barges in the underwater park; if scuba interests at all, this is one of the more legitimate South Sound options.
A Discover Pass is required.
More Pacific Coast beaches
Zuma Beach
Malibu, CA · Pacific Coast
A wide stretch of sand backed by the Santa Monica Mountains, with reliable swells that draw surfers year-round and plenty of room to spread out even on busy weekends.
Huntington City Beach
Huntington Beach, CA · Pacific Coast
Known as Surf City USA, with a mile-long municipal pier, consistent breaks for surfers of every level, and a laid-back boardwalk scene along Pacific Coast Highway.
Main Beach
Laguna Beach, CA · Pacific Coast
Tucked between rocky headlands, with tidepools to explore at low tide, calmer coves for swimming, and an arts-town backdrop of galleries and cafes just steps from the sand.