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| Larry Scott Memorial Trail |
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Directions:
To get to the north end, take SR 20 into Port Townsend. At the bottom
of the hill coming into town turn right on Boat St. Go one block
and the trailhead is slightly on the right at the end of Boat St.
To get to the south end, from SR 20 turn south on Mill St., about
1 mile south of Boat St.
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 Features:
Located in the Victorian Seaport of Port
Townsend, Wash, this 1.8 mile crushed rock trail starts just south
of the Port Townsend marina. Port Townsend is keen on wooden boats
and there are many unusual examples near the trailhead. The trail
begins right along the edge of the salt water and then begins to
climb at the base of a steep sandy slope. At the Port Townsend Paper
Mill there is a viewpoint overlooking the bay with an interpretive
sign.
The trail then heads west cutting along
the side of a hill mostly sheltered by trees. At Mill Road the trail has
a couple of minor short grades to it, but is mostly level. It heads
up to SR 20 and follows it heading SW. Toward the end, the trail
splits and goes under SR 20. If you stay left and don't follow the
trail under SR20 it ends in a few hundred feet near the road. If
you go under SR20 the trail forks again, either going toward 4 corners
or left a few hundred feet near the road.
Other Info:
This is Jefferson Counties first
contribution to the Olympic Discovery Trail which will eventually
go from Port Townsend to Forks. Jefferson County has control of
the property down to Discovery Bay and plans to improve the trail
to that point.
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Trip Notes:
Sept. 10, 2002 - What a great day, great
trail. We had a beautiful, warm September morning to get our
first look at the trail. I've driven down to the trail head
several times before and parked, but until I got my scooter,
could not access it. The trail head has handicap parking and
accessible restrooms. We headed down the trail along the waterfront
with a small section of wetlands on the Northwest side of
the trail. Blue-winged Teal Ducks were feeding amonst the
reeds while a Blue Heron pruned himself on a solitary fir
tree next to the wetland area. Some kind of Sandpipers ran
along the shore as the tide was out. It was a beautiful sight
across the water to Indian Island. Back to our left was Whidbey
Island. The wetlands gave way to the large bluffs. Wild flowers
and Oregon grapes grew on the sandy face of the bluff.
The old part of the trail has several benches
and interpretive signs along the way to the paper mill They
are still putting the finishing touches on the new part of
the trail so I don't know if it will have benches or not.
There is a bench and picnic table directly above the Paper
Mill. (Tourists think of Port Townsend as a Victorian seaport,
but it is also a Mill town and the Mill's presence is important
to the economy and has been since the 1920s.) Because of that,
it seemed natural to see the Mill as we moved down the trail.
 My
partner turned back at the 1.5 mile marker. My dog Daks and
I continued to explore the rest of the trail which for the
most part is sheltered by trees. We crossed Thomas and Mill
Roads and scooted on up to the section that parallels SR 20.
There was traffic noise here even though there was a buffer
of trees separating the trail from the road most of the time.
A small section of forest had been clearcut on this section.
I made it to the end of the trail and then Daks hitched a
ride on my scooter and we headed back to meet up with my partner
at the trail head which is at the Port Townsend boat yard.
We were greeted with a wonderful treat. They had pulled the
Tall Ship Lady Washington out of the water, gave her a bath
and were transporting her right behind our pickup so we got
a good look at her as she went by. Lady Washington is a replica
of the original 90 tons merchant brig that sailed from approximately
1750 - 1798. If you love tall ships, click on the Lady Washington
photo to go to her website.
The only negative thing about
this trail is the amount of dog poop we saw. Please - PICK
UP AFTER YOUR DOG. It makes all of us dog owners look bad
and reduces the enjoyment for all. There is just no excuse
for it - there are plastic bags at the trail head.
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| Fort Worden State Park |
Directions:
14 miles north of Hoodsport on Hwy.
101. From Hamma Hamma Recreation Area sign (Forest Rt. 25) on HWY
101 turn west onto Hamma Hamma River Rd (FS Rd #25). Drive 6 miles
to the entrance of Hamma Hamma Campground on the left side of the
road. NOTE: Most of Forest Rt. 25 is paved, single lane with turnouts. |
|  Features:
Fort Worden State Park has five miles of
trails, ranging in challenge from easy to difficult, and in
views from fabulous to fantastic. The Washington State guide for accessible outdoor recreation does not list these trails as accessible, but we had few problems (see Trip Notes) and are worth exploring for slow walkers and wheelers with assistance.
The Peace Mile trail begins at the cemetery,
and winds gently up the hill to the Chinese Gardens and eventually
to the top of Artillery Hill. A sidetrail circles beside the lake
at the Chinese Gardens.
The Artillery Hill trail follows the old
roadway up the hill from NCO row. It's left side circles past a
wonderful meadow at Battery Tolles overlooking the Strait and the
San Juan Islands, and up to the top to come down the other side,
with views to the east and south over the fort.
The beach offers over a mile of level walking
along sand or sand mixed with rocks of varying sizes.To
the south, a 3/4 mile stroll brings you to downtown Port Townsend.
To the north, Point Wilson and the lighthouse beckon. To the west
from Battery Kinzie, walk under towering bluffs for 3/4 of a mile
to North Beach County Park and the Chinese Gardens. Neither of the
beach walks can be done at high tide in the winter.
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There are easy trails/roads with a few
avoidable steep climbs These are a mixture of paved and hardpack
trails that connect decommissioned military bunkers. The forested
trails go through tunnels and along open field bluffs that look
out over the straight of Juan de Fuca.
Other Info:
Fort Worden State Park Conference
Center is a 433-acre multi-use park with 11,020 feet of saltwater
shoreline and a wide variety of services and facilities. The park
rests on a high bluff overlooking Puget Sound. Many historic buildings
remain at this 19th century military fort.
Beach access, 8 mooring buoys, (boat launch
and buoy floats removed in winter), dump stations available. Utility
campsite, pier, houses, dining hall, meeting rooms, group activities.
It is common for bicylists to connect the
Ft Worden trails with "Cappy's" trail behind Jefferson
County Fairgrounds via North Beach and Henderson Road. The trail
is undeveloped plotted roads that run through madrona, alder, and
rhody scrub and some second-growth douglas fir. Mostly wide single
track or narrow double-track with some gravel but mostly hardback
dirt trail surface. Mid-winter can get a bit soupy in a couple of
stretches. A great combination ride with Fort Worden State Park.
Named after Bill Capriatii, who was a long proprietor of scrap metal.
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Trip Notes:
Sept. 11, 2002 - I started early and the
morning was cool with marine air and fog. My dog Daks and
I took the trails alone having wore out my partner on the
Larry Scott Trail the day before. I went to the park office
first to get a map and ask some questions. (It is in one of
the old historic barracks.) They had just opened and there
was already a long line of people. I did not wait because
my knees were killing me. I had found a handicap parking area
in the back of the building, but no ramp so I walked up a
flight of stairs to the office. I grabbed a map in the office
alcove and while waiting noticed a handicap automatic door
opener at the front door. I thought that was strange since
there were lots of stairs going up the front door. I went
out on the porch and found an outside elevator lift that was
hid by the shrubs in front of it. I imagine that isn't used
much. They need to have a sign at the handicap stall pointing
folks around the side of the building. I also checked the
restroom out. The single stall is way too narrow for a wheel
chair. They need to remove the stall walls and put a lock
on the bathroom door since only one person can use it at a
time anyways. Since I had not talked to anyone, I was unsure
where the trail head might be. It was not marked by signs.
Later, I found that the best place to park was by the Peace
Mile trail head down by the cemetery.
 The
trail is a combination of dirt/gravel and is level until it
forks at the pit toilets. I went right and headed up a hill
to the Walker bunkers (wheelchair with assistance, but the
scooter had no problems with the hills). At the top of the
bunkers there are wonderful views of the Strait.
After checking out the bunkers, I went back
down the hill and kept right on the trail heading to North
Beach. What a wonderful surprise when I emerged from the trees
to a huge meadow and a 30 acre lagoon (called Chinese Gardens).
The Chinese Gardens were vegetable gardens used by Chinese
immigrants in the late 1800's. (See photo.)
The grassy trail heads across the meadow
and definately needs work. It is double track and the tracks
are fairly deep from bicycles. I stayed to either side of
a track hoping I would not get any tall grass wrapped around
my axle. The trail ends at the park boundry at the North Beach
County Park which has parking (end of Kuhn St. off 49th Ave.
) and a nice sandy beach. (See photo.)
I went back across the meadow, staying to
the right near the Chinese Gardens Lagoon. This is not an
easy trail. I would recommend returning on the upper trail.
The lower trail is narrow and full of tree roots that would
stop a wheelchair user or a smaller scooter.
 I
was going to check out the Artillery
Hill trail, but could not figure out a way to get up there
that wasn't too steep. After popping my circuit breaker on
one of the roads, I went back down and rode my scooter around
the buildings and the Stoddard and Putnam bunkers. There is
a gorgeous Madrona tree near here.
I'll try the Artillery
Hill another day. I'm thinking that I had access from the
Walker bunkers and did not know it.
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Anderson Lake State Park
Directions:
Anderson Lake Road off Highway 20, 9 miles
south of Port Townsend. From Hwy. 101 heading north: At Discovery
Bay, turn right onto Hwy. 20. Go 3.7 miles to Anderson Lake Rd.,
and turn right. Follow this road for 1.1 miles, and turn left into
park entrance.
Features:
Anderson
Lake State Park is a day-use park with a beautiful 70-acre lake surrounded by 410 acres of cedar, fir and
alder forest mixed with freshwater marshes. Anderson
Lake is a popular fishing area and abounds with birds and wildlife.The park includes an undeveloped
marsh area across the lake from the parking lot. There is also a
one-mile trail loop 3.4 mi. bike trails and 4.4 mi. hiking trails, but sadly as of August 2007 they can not be considered accessible.
A vault toilet
is available above the boat launch area (several hundred yards). For anyone fishing or spending time down by the lake where the disabled parking area is located, the restroom requires navigating a rather steep hill to use the facility. It is not ADA accessible. There is one designated parking space next to a picnic table near the boat launch (see above photo for a view of the lake from here). The parking space, the picnic area, and the boat launch do not meet ADA standards.
 Leading south from here is a path to two more fishing areas with picnic tables. Although the first area has a sign asking people to defer using the area when handicap folks are present, it is NOT remotely designed for handicapped use. The path to the area has loose rock, which would make narrow wheelchair tires nearly impossible to go through. The grass part of the path and picnic sites is irregular and requires strength and balance to negotiate.
The path heading north from the boat launch is totally unaccessible. There is a dip and mound at the boat launch to the path and serves as a barrier for any wheeled mobility device.  This path skirts the lake and serves several fishing spots along the lake.
Above the parking area (near the vault toilet there is a trail head that connects to the Discovery trail and the Anderson Lake trail. This trail system is supported by area bicycle, horseback riding, and running groups and really is only maintained to the level required for those purposes. The Anderson Lake portion of this trail system winds around the lake, through some nice forested areas, but never offers accessible access to the lake shore nor views of the lake. Near the east shore of this trail, the path climbs and was not explored by AccessibleTrails.com beyond this point.
 If none of these trail amenities are accessible, why include them here? Because this is a jewel of a lake in an area that offers few opportunities for fishing with a trail to explore. It BEGS to be developed with universal access. Currently, the mountain biking community is asking for the trails to stay challenging, but surely there is room for one trail around the lake to be accessible. (This area is managed by Fort Flagler State Park.) Currently, slow walkers and outdoor-rated mobility scooters can handle part of the trail. Slow walkers can use the trail, the picnic tables, the vault toilet, and the boat launch.
This area needs a boat launch with an accessible pier to get in the boat and fish from. The designated parking spot needs to be flat with pavement to picnic table. The path to the two picnic areas needs to be paved and leveled. A handicap table needs to be in a least one of the picnic spots with an accessible fishing pier reaching out to the lake. And the trails should provide at least some ADA accessiblity for a short distance along the trail with an accessible path down to the lake on the north shore.
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Trip Notes:
Sept. 7, 2007 - I explored this area with my four-wheel Pride Hurricane scooter to document the accessiblity of the state park. Over the years, I have fished Anderson Lake for trout in a non-motorized boat or raft. I have many memories of watching eagles or osprey flying overhead and landing in nearby trees. It is just a beautiful lake. However, today I looked at it from different eyes, and a different, disabled body. I pushed my scooter to the limit trying to get to the fishing spots along the lake. I made it, but won't recommend it to anyone without considerable strength and balance or the ability to walk a bit. It made me angry, but also gave me ideas and hope for the future. I imagined a short accessible path to the three picnic areas with fishing docks protruding into the lake, much like Sylvia State Park or Friends Landing near
Montesano. The Northern Olympic Peninsula has nothing like this and yet it is an area with as much tourism and plenty of seniors and disabled folks that would use it.
Not to be disuaded, I tried the upper trails above the boat launch parking area. It is a beautiful wooded area with lots of big cedars. The trail however was rough with larger rocks that made a bumpy ride. There were small twigs that I feared would get tangled in my driveshaft. At the north end of the lake, I could see a parallel boardwalk that led to the shore of the lake, but could not find an accessible way to get down there. As I headed around the lake near the east side, my circuit breaker popped and I realized I had been climbing for some distance. I reset it and climbed a bit more until I popped it again. At that point I decided to turn back. |
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Fort Flagler
Directions:
Located eight miles northeast of Hadlock
(Port Hadlock), Wash., on the northern tip of Marrowstone Island.
From Seattle or Edmonds:
Take Kingston Ferry or Bainbridge Island Ferry, and follow signs
to Hood Canal Bridge. Cross over and drive five miles, then turn
right onto easily-missed Hwy. 19 (Beaver Valley Rd.). Travel 10
miles to the Chimacum four-way stop. Take a right on Chimacum-Center
Rd. At four-way stop in Port Hadlock, turn right onto Oak Bay Rd.
Go approximately one mile and turn left onto SR 116. Fort Flagler
is at end of road, approximately 10 miles from the Oak Bay Rd.
From Port Townsend:
Take Hwy. 20 and travel three miles to the traffic light at Ness'
Corner Rd. Go straight through the light, which puts you on Hwy.
19. In approximately eight miles, turn left onto SR 116 (Oak Bay
Rd.). Go through Port Hadlock approximately two miles, and take
a sharp left, staying on SR 116. Follow to park entrance at end
of highway. Park is about ten miles from Oak Bay Rd. turnoff.
You can get a trail map at
the Contact Station or from the Campground Host.
Features:
The park contains a variety of environments
including high cliffs and wetlands, with nature trails winding through
part of the park. The mostly forested trails interconnect and open
up in a couple of locations on bluffs that overloook the straight
of Juan de Fuca.
Other Info:
Military installation sites of local historical
interest are along the top of the bluff. If you like to RV or camp,
the campground here is first rate with sites near the beach and
a large playfield for kite flying. The spit is a good spot for bird
watching, especially during the migratory season. The fully accessible
restroom in the campground has a handicap parking stall. For additional
information, see the Fort
Flager website.
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 Trip
Notes:
Sept. 13, 2002 - Wow, another great trail!
This has got to be one of my favorites for trails in the woods.
As usual, I didn't park at the best trailhead the first time
(I parked up by the theater), but I discoved that a good place
to park is across the street from the Bankhead Battery. There
are picnic tables here with nice shade trees. (See photo above.)
Far left of this bunker is a clearing which leads into one
of the nicest North/South trails which will take you to Searchlight
13. I also took the North/South trail from Battery Calwell
down to the road. These two trails are the best of the best
if you are short for time. You can make a loop of it by taking
the road between the trailheads. The road is not too busy
and it is a short distance between trailheads. Both trails
are wide paths through tall, mature Douglas Fir, Cedar, and
Maple trees with large ferns for ground cover.
 There
are one or two benches on the trails. They need more since
it is a perfect place to stop and listen to the quietness
of the forest and observe the wonderful character of the trees
such as the photo to the left. Many of the benches are makeshift
(a board across two posts) and are not high enough. I know
if I sat down on one, I would never be able to get up again!
The North/South trail from the Theater to
the Downes Battery is also nice. There is a view of the Sound
and Whidbey Island from the Downes Battery. The lateral trail
near the bluff has several bunkers and historical points of
reference. It does not offer many water views and serves only
to move you between the North/South trails. Therefore, just
going around the perimeter of the trail system would not take
you into the best areas. The grade of these North/South trails
is so gradual in most places it is not going to pose a problem.
An exception is the trailhead down by the campground. It is
too steep to take - don't bother with that section.
The short Interpretive trail loop is not
accessible. Also, some of the gates blocking the trailheads
have ends which are too narrow and uneven to get a wheelchair
or scooter through them.
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Symbols
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An agency or a trip evaluation has rated
all or part of the trail as wheelchair accessible. |
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There is some terrain greater than a 5%
grade. A wheelchair user may require assistance on portions
of this trail. Suitable for power mobility devices. |
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No Dogs are allowed on the trail. |
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