[furthur]

Started off with an early morning minus 1 slack tide, heading south on the shoreline of the Salish Sea. No particular goal, just curious how far I could walk from Ocean Ave north of Edmonds, and still return along the beach.

Light at the end of the Tunnel

After maneuvering past the dive park, ferry terminal, marina, and dog park, Point Wells scratched the horizon. I wanted some "before" shots of this area, as it has an entirely different future ahead: http://www.pointwells.com/. There is still a heavy odor of oil around here, sparking the uneasy thought of spontaneous combustion. The beach is swallowing a few small rail cars and what I think were containment devices--purple and teal blanket material that at first made me think I'd ventured into a hobo camp. The rusted site still thumps and hisses, and one dock pipe belches steam ominously.

Point Wells

steam spout

After the Wells, Shoreline suburbia begins to creep near the Sound, until a stretch of homes actually settle across the BNSF tracks, above the shore behind concrete bulkheads. Further along, I made Saltwater Park just at my turnaround time of 2.5 hours. I was hoping to reach Richmond Beach, but I'll need a lower tide to hit that goal.

Whidbey in the distance from Saltwater Park

SS Manifest Destiny

Point Wells looking north

On the way back, just north of Point Wells, I happened on sunbathers getting maximum D sans suits. Some were strolling about, and not wanting to be intrusive, I kept my head down, eyes focussed on the sand, and nearly collided with dozing Canada geese.

one legged geese

poppies

rare caboose

dog beach

someone's getting hitched today!

rugosas above the beach, the most fragrant rose.

Last year's walk to Mukilteo was a bit more, well, natural. But I did pocket lots of beach glass this trip, and if a pub overlooking the Sound opens at Point Wells, I might wander south again. And then there's those sunbathers...

[Hiker Mama]

I had heard rumors of a nudist beach somewhere down there when I worked as a Ranger for Edmonds. Never caught a glimpse of them, though. That's a nice walk along the beach.

[soreyes]

The Edmonds nude beach is a fun part of the daily Sounder commute! http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4196116.html more info here (scroll down) http://naked.wikia.com/wiki/Washington_places

[soreyes]

[Highwalker's Daughter]

Great beach walk! I hope to go with you sometime.

[furthur]

from soreyes Naked Wikia link: The location of the beach area known as Peter Point (male anatomy reference?), sometimes referred to as Point Wells is located in Woodway, WA, although Point Wells [6] proper is located in Shoreline. The beach used map is north of Richmond Beach Park in Shoreline, and south of Edmonds Beach in Edmonds. Illegal to access by land. To get to the beach, people trespass on property owned by either the railroad or the petroleum company. [7] Accessible by boat/kayaking. Fairly well visited. World Naked Beach Party was held there by a small group in 2005. The Sounder commuter trains that bring Seattle workers north to Edmonds and Everett have brought more attention to this beach since the route began in August of 2004. Riders have obstruction-free views of anybody using the beach. The World Naked Beach Party was held in staid old Woodway WA??? That's a trip. Even more interesting are the posts on this site of suggested clothing-optional hikes. Now, that could be painful!

[sospeso]

FYI, a small portion of beach property immediately south of the Point Wells petroleum processing plant in King County is privately owned by our family in addition to several others just up from the beach. Technically if you are walking on the that stretch of beach you are trespassing on our property, but you have my permission . Having grown up in the same house my entire life, that stretch of beach looking west into the Olympics is something I cherish immensely. Although the petroleum plant is not the best neighbor, imho the proposed Point Wells monstrosity you mentioned is a dark cloud on the horizon. Although one cannot stop development, the planning is ill conceived. But I digress... It's great to see pics of our beach.

[aelwell]

This might be of interest here: On Friday I ran the beach from Seattle (Golden Gardens Bathhouse) to Everett (Pigeon Creek TH) in 4:59. The 26 mile route stays to the west of the railroad tracks and only leaves the beach for short sections in Edmonds and Mukilteo, and then finishes on a short paved trail in Everett. The challenge of this route is twofold: limited route existence due to tides and the ever-changing terrain of sand, sharp or slippery rocks, and some boulders. I chose the lowest tide day of the summer and was able to bypass all but 100 meters of boulders. I started when the tide was 2' and going out. (The worst part was just north of Carkeek Park) I do not know if anyone has done this before, I didn't find anything in my research, but it's likely been done before. This is a fun adventure that's just in my backyard! Note: This route crosses tidelands that are private property, which is a legal gray area. However, I did not have any encounters with anyone that were not positive and did not see any No Trespassing signs on the beach.

[nordique]

Good for you! I hate hiking on sand but running on it, and for 26 miles, sounds agonizing! It was bad enough running marathons on pavement! Give me a mountain trail any day--but, wait, I hike three days a week, year-round; so far this year: https://flic.kr/s/aHsku7zqBw

[Ringangleclaw]

[Sculpin]

[Schroder]

[reststep]

Here is a link to an article from the Kitsap Sun that says kind of the same thing assuming things have not changed since the article was written in 2010. Link Edit: Corrected the year the article was written.

[Schroder]

Thanks for finding this article (written in 2010)!