Mason County offers a wide range of natural and cultural experiences: water activities on Hood Canal, trails through wetlands and former farmland, and places where the region’s history comes to life. Tailor your stay to your interests and choose from tidal landscapes, wildlife viewing, and historical collections.
Water, Tides, and Shorelines
Potlatch State Park offers a distinctive waterfront setting. Along its 5,700-foot shoreline, mooring buoys are available year-round. Swimming, boating, paddling, water skiing, crabbing, and fishing are all possible there. The required permits and regulations apply to fishing and shellfish harvesting.
Hope Island Marine State Park in Mason County is accessible only by watercraft. There, you can explore trails and watch seals in the water and eagles in the sky. On Harstine Island, Jarrell Cove State Park offers swimming, and boats can moor overnight there year-round.
Twanoh State Park is a 188-acre marine camping park on Hood Canal. Its features include warm salt water for swimming and an abundance of shellfish. Shellfish can also be harvested on Hood Canal. In Mason County, people harvest clams and eat oysters, mussels, and geoduck. Before harvesting, check the applicable rules, which vary by season and location.
Trails Through Wetlands and Former Farmland
On the edge of Hood Canal lies the Mary E. Theler Wetlands Nature Preserve, where the Union River meets the fjord. A three-mile trail with bridges and boardwalks offers opportunities to observe birds and mammals. The preserve also features a native plant garden, a replica of a gray whale skeleton, and outdoor artwork.
Near Staircase, the flat Shady Lane Trail leads to Lake Cushman in less than a mile. Tides determine access to McMicken Island: at low tide, a sandbar emerges, connecting the island to the mainland. Plan your visit with the incoming tide in mind. The island has a roughly half-mile trail, a picnic meadow, and a rocky intertidal zone to explore.
Lake Isabella State Park offers a network of more than four miles of trails through pastureland, orchards, and forest. The 182-acre site preserves a former farm landscape, where deer can be spotted. These varied landscapes sit side by side: wetlands, intertidal zones, and trails through former farmland.
Cultural History and Regional Collections
Bayshore Preserve was transformed from a golf course into a natural area and is culturally significant as a former village of the Squaxin Island Tribe. At Oakland Bay Historical Park, conservation and local history come together: the 81.87-acre preserve has trails to Malaney Creek and Oakland Bay and is also a historic property at the site of the Malaney House.
The Mason County Historical Society Museum in Shelton preserves artifacts related to the timber industry, shellfish economy, agriculture, and early pioneer life, and maintains a public historical library. The Peninsular Railway and Lumbermen's Museum displays restored locomotives, cabooses, and logging equipment from Shelton’s logging railroad history.
The Squaxin Island Museum Library and Research Center and the Skokomish Tribal Center offer further cultural insights. The museum features interpretive exhibits and artifacts about the relationship between members of the Squaxin Island Tribe and the seven inlets of southern Puget Sound. The Skokomish Tribal Center preserves historic Twana artifacts and an extensive basket collection. Together, these collections offer different perspectives on the region’s history and culture.
Discover more destinations: Kamilche, Shelton, Belfair, Hoodsport, Jefferson County, Grays Harbor County, Pierce and Clallam County.
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