Today I started on another trip to visit Washington State parks, this time in the south central part of the state. My friend Dave picked me up early from home and we first went in search of a restaurant open early for breakfast. We found one in Auburn, the Rainbow Cafe, arriving there at 7 a.m. just as they opened. I splurged on a huge blueberry pancake while Dave had a hearty omelette.
Once breakfast was out of the way, we continued our drive south, hitting I-5 and heading to the first park of the trip, Rainbow Falls State Park, west of Chehalis. The falls were small, but the south fork of the Chehalis River was nice. We had the park almost to ourselves and it was a lovely warm morning. And we did a little birdwatching. There was a trailhead in the park to the Willapa Hills State Park Trail, which was the second “park” of the trip. We walked on the trail for a few feet to say we had been on it too.
Next was a tiny little park called Jackson House Historical Park, the site of a log house built in the 1850s by the first European settlers north of the Columbia River. It was a 30 minute drive away in Chehalis. We were the only visitors at the time, but a park employee was doing lawn maintenance. We couldn’t go inside, but we looked through the windows to see an old spinning wheel and other tools of the day. Then we were on to the third park.
Ike Kinsey State Park, named after a Cowlitz Tribe member who owned the land, was the next on our list and our favorite of the day. It’s located on Mayfield Lake, with a swimming beach and nice fishing pier. There were paddle boarders, kayakers, and fisher people on the glassy lake. It was quite warm by noon. We looked at fish in the lake from the fishing pier and enjoyed the sunshine.
From there, we continued south to Lewis and Clark State Park, then Seaquest. Both were beautifully wooded parks, and we watched a mother Robin feed her chicks in a nest in a bush while sitting at a picnic table at Lewis and Clark. Seaquest is the location of the state’s Mt. St. Helens visitor center, but it was closed for remodeling. But we did get a glimpse of the volcano through the trees.
The last two parks of the day were a little disappointing. Paradise Point is right next to and under the I-5 freeway. We didn’t even get out of the car, although a river ran through the park and it was woodsy. Battle Ground Lake State Park was crowded with people wanting to swim in the little lake after work on this sunny and warm spring day, so we didn’t linger there either. And we were tired from all the driving.
We used Google Maps to find a nearby Best Western Hotel in Battle Ground for the night. After checking in, the manager recommended a restaurant called Pita House nearby for a Middle Eastern dinner. It was very good food, especially since we hadn’t eaten lunch. A good first day of the trip!
Lori's Travels 