Sequim Bay State Park – Sequim Bay, Washington

Sequim Bay State Park
Sequim Bay, Washington

Hours: Park is open year round for camping and day use, 8 a.m. to dusk
Fees: For any visit to a Washington state park, at $5 daily parking permit is required. Standard campsites are $15 per night, and parking for additional vehicles is charged at $10 per night. Reservations are usually necessary during the summer time. For boaters, moorage from 1 p.m. to 8 a.m. at the park in the summer is 50 cents per foot, with a $10 minimum. Buoys are available for $10 at night.
Location: Sequim Bay, Washington. (For all you non-natives, Sequim is pronounced “skwim,” like swim with a k thrown in, not “see-quee-um,” “seh-kwum,” etc.)
Activities: 1 mile of hiking trails, saltwater boating, personal water craft, swimming, clamming, crabbing, oysters, beachcombing, Olympic Game Farm.
Contact: For general reservations, call 1-800-CAMPOUT. For a complete list of contact information please visit the Washington state park website here.
Website: Sequim Bay State Park

Nestled within the Straight of Juan de Fuca, two natural and overlapping sandbars protect beautiful Sequim Bay from both the harsh waves and currents of the straight, as well as from early area explorers, who failed to discover this beautiful spot the first three times they ventured into the Puget Sound. The word “sequim” is Native America, and means “quiet waters,” a great descriptor for the ocean running the 4,909 feet or shoreline of this 92-acre marine camping park. Sequim Bay is also a great location for those rain-shy out of town guests, as it is located in Washington’s “rain shadow,” an area receiving significantly less rainfall than the surrounding area (including fabled Seattle). The average rainfall here is only 17 inches each year.

Sequim Bay provides campers with extensive coastlines, where beachcombing is the most popular activity. Combers can encounter all types of Pacific sea life, including clams, mussels, scallops, sea cucumbers, seals, and starfish, which any parent knows are great for fascinating young ones for hours at a time! In addition to the ample sea-life, typical park wildlife abound, including deer and elk. For even more family or group entertainment, there is also a baseball field, softball field, and basketball court located in the park.

If Sequim Bay itself doesn’t offer enough, the Olympic National Park and Forest are very near by, and provide great day excursions as detailed in my Olympic National Park Profile. The most unique nearby attraction, however, is the Olympic Game Farm, located about a 20 minute drive from the park. “The Game Farm” is home to over 32 different species of both endangered and non-endangered wildlife located on a beautiful reserve where visitors can take a drive-through tour (open all year round), or a walking tour (available from Memorial to Labor Day). Both tours allow visitors to get up-close and personal with many of the animals, with chances to feed and pet them, and even get slobbers by a the friendly American buffalo!

The Game Farm features everything from American bison to Grant’s zebras, and a vast array in between. Included are elk, prairie dogs, domestic yaks, white rhinos, ostriches, deer, donkeys, Bengal tigers, Siberian tigers, African lions, leopards, cougars, lynx, coyotes, timber wolves, raccoons, black bears, kodiak bears, and grizzly bears. For many years, The Olympic Game Farm held an exclusive contract with Walt Disney Studios, who used a great many of the Game Farm animals in TV, films, and other productions, one of the most famous being the Grizzly Adams TV series. Disney often used the farm itself and other locations along the Olympic Peninsula as their setting. A complete list of films can be found on the Game Farm website.

Whether you walk, drive, or do a combined tour, the Game Farm is wonderful of kids and adults alike, and your time spent here will be talked about for years to come. Rates are $9 per adult for the drive through, $10 for a walk through, and $15 for a combined tour. For children ages 6-12, the rates are $8, $9, and $13, respectively. Seniors over 60 enjoy the children’s rate, and kids 5 and under are free. You can contact the Olympic Game Farm by phone at 360-683-4295, by mail at 1423 Ward Road, Sequim, WA 98382, by email at gamefarm@olympus.net, or check out their website here.

Between the beautiful, calm waters that surround the park, and the fun and unique Game Farm nearby, your experiences in beautiful Sequim Bay Washington won’t soon be forgotten.

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