Oswald West Park, Kid Friendly Hike

We headed out to Oswald West Park with the kids and wanted to explore the area, seeing what was good for kids. We settled on the Short Sand Beach Trail which is only a 0.5 mile trail ( each way) down to a secluded beach. This is a perfect trail for kids and families of all ages!

The trail has loads of amazing trees, most of which are massive old growth sitka spruces. This is a perfect trail to take your time on, as kids will want to roam around all the different and unique log and root formations.

The beach itself is secluded and not very big. Once you pop out of the trail, you can either go right towards the creek or left, towards a large waterfall in the distance. We decided to go left and stay by the creek area, which had loads of driftwood and the creek was so shallow it was perfect for the kids to play in.

If you head left, you can play near a small waterfall or another even smaller creek that are coming down from the woods. The beach is also really popular with surfers, so it's a fun place to watch all the surfing activity.

Pros:

• Really clean bathroom

• Beautiful well maintained trails

• Amazing forest and coastal views

• Can be really crowded in summer or on nicer days

Cons:

• Can be really crowded in summer or on nicer days

• Beach is "smaller" ( not necessarily a con)

• Lots of dogs off leash ( however, we didn't notice any dog poop, even on the trails).

Find more about the trails and park at Oswald West State Park here:

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