Sequalitchew Creek Trail is a quick urban jaunt found down in DuPont (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/sequalitchew-creek-trail). It has ample parking, which is nice and the trail is well maintained. A bonus with kids. It stays pretty muddy/wet, but that makes it ideal for puddle jumping!

This is one of our go-to trails when there is unpredictable weather or heavy rain. It’s very urban, so there’s no need to worry excessively about getting lost (although we always pack the 10 essentials anyway for good habits). It has a lot of interesting flora and fauna for the kids. We’ve seen blue garter snakes, frogs, seals, crabs, fish, a plethora of birds. It’s a real winner so if you feel anxious about hiking with your kiddos, this one is a great first hike. 

The first portion of this trail is paved, but after a bit it turns to a gravel pathway. This pathway will continue all the way down to the sound. On the way you’ll pass where the creek joins the sound, walk through an old train tunnel, and there will be an active train track on the hill above you. 

The trains come through rather frequently. Do not climb up and get on this track. We usually have a Sound side picnic and spend some time walking along and playing in the water. When the tide is low, you can walk out towards an old shipwreck, but it’s also fun to just throw rocks if you arrive at high tide. 

This trail is estimated to take approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes, but if your toddler is walking plan for at least 3 hours. Bear walked the 1.7 miles down and it took almost 2 hours because toddler time means stopping to examine everything. Time coming out with him in the Tula was 37 minutes for the same distance, so plan accordingly! 1 down, 51 to go! 

There is a history of the area posted on this trail that is incomplete. You can read more about the history here:

Nisqually Tribal Webpage history:  http://www.nisqually-nsn.gov/index.php/heritage/

An interesting paper I found while researching: https://sites.evergreen.edu/basewatch/katie-dotson/

A less thorough history that, in my opinion, glazes over the history of how the land was taken, but does offer insight into the history of the land itself: http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington/dupont/sequalitchew_creek_trail_209.htm

As always, you can choose to donate to organizations acting as stewards to the land  and water in the area and I always encourage it. I'll be sharing one in each blog: 

When enjoying something on or near a waterway on Nisqually land, I like to donate to Salmon Defense. This is a nonprofit that continues Billy Frank Jr.’s vision to save the Nisqually River Delta, specifically the salmon. You can read about the nonprofit here:  https://salmondefense.org/