Cascadia Marine Trail camp site is being considered at Salt Creek

Published 1:30 am Saturday, June 6, 2026

PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Parks Advisory Board is pursuing the establishment of a Cascadia Marine Trail Camp Site at Salt Creek Recreation Area.

The board on Tuesday reviewed a proposal for the site, which the Clallam County Parks Master Plan has been amended to permit, Parks, Fair & Facilities Director Don Crawford wrote in county documents.

“In the past three years, the Clallam County Parks Advisory Board has recommended twice that the county develop a Cascadia Marine Trail Camp Site at Salt Creek Recreation Area,” Crawford wrote in an email. “The first recommendation was later postponed due to the campsites’ omission from the County Parks Master Plan and concerns regarding salmon habitat.”

The master plan has been amended to include the campsite and the parks department has worked with the county Department of Community Development to ensure the proposed campsite was outside of the established Shoreline Master Program boundaries, which it is, Crawford wrote.

“On the second occasion, the Parks Advisory Board once again recommended the campsite but recognized the need to gather more public input to better align their recommendation with public sentiment,” Crawford wrote. “To facilitate this, county park staff issued a press release and reached out to those who expressed opposition.”

In recent months, the board has received strong support for the campsite.

“It is important to recognize the nature of this additional amenity,” Crawford wrote. “Given the paddling conditions in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, use of the Cascadia Marine Trail in Clallam County will primarily attract seasoned paddlers. Cascadia Marine Trail Camp site users are typically conscientious and respect the environment. Their visits are low-impact: they arrive, pay the fee, set up camp, use the facilities, sleep and eat, clean up and depart. Concerns about loud parties, increased visitor traffic and unmanaged code violations are addressed by the successful track record of over 50 existing Cascadia Marine Trail sites throughout Puget Sound, the Salish Sea and the San Juan Islands, established in the mid 1990s, suggesting these fears are unfounded.”

The Cascadia Marine Trail is a system of campsites for people arriving in human-powered boats such as canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, beachable sailboats and rowboats, according to county documents.

“The trail continues a 10,000-year tradition of traveling the Salish Sea, through the Puget Sound, Hood Canal and the San Juan Islands,” the proposal states. “This National Recreation Trail offers both day-use access and overnight camping sites.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, Crawford said the impact of having a Cascadia Marine Trail site at Salt Creek Recreation Area would be “minimal at best.”

Washington Water Trails Executive Director Andrée Hurley answered questions from the Parks Advisory Board during the meeting.

Each existing site on the trail is different, with some just offering the minimum of a bathroom — which could be a port-a-potty — and others offering full campsites, Hurley said.

The sites typically host individual users or small groups of two or three, maybe up to five.

Although the Salt Creek Recreation Area isn’t “the best place in the world,” Crawford said it would be ideal for people who need to get out of the water due to changing conditions or any other reason.

“My vision for the county site is a little bit different than a lot of the sites on the trail,” Crawford said. “I would like to put in a single picnic table pavilion so they can get out of the water and it’ll be on a concrete pad. It will be a 150-yard walk to fresh water, but there’s flush toilets up the hill and you can be 15 feet from a vault toilet. I want to make them a little nicer to hopefully compensate for some of the other failings, so once you’re in there, you’re getting a good camping experience.”

There is not a specific timeline for campsite development at this time. The project still requires funding as well as volunteers.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.