Sequalitchew Creek Trail in DuPont, WA

Earlier this year we heard about Sequalitchew Beach from one of my children's teachers at homeschool co-op, and this past Saturday we made the trip there.  I had seen a picture taken on her visit there of a cement boat wrecked on the beach, and it sparked the spirit of adventure in me!  I really wanted to visit that ship!

When I found out that the beach with the ship was in DuPont, WA, I was surprised! Though we've traveled through Dupont many times, I sheepishly admit that I had no idea DuPont even had a beach. It made me realize I sure need to brush up on my geography and WA state history.

As I googled, I found out that you can get down to the beach by walking a trail called "Sequalitchew Creek Trail." Sequalitchew Creek travels from Edmonds Marsh through DuPont and flows down a ravine and out into the Puget Sound at Sequalitchew Beach. "Sequalitchew" has been translated to mean "extensive sand banks over which the water is shallow," "big tide, and "long run out tide." It was given that name because of the great distance of sand that was exposed at low tide (source: Sequalitchew Creek Timeline).

In 1906, the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, commonly referred to as "DuPont," purchased 2700 acres of land from the Seattle Sand and Gravel Company, including Sequalitchew Creek Canyon. In 1910 DuPont built a narrow gauge railway on the north side of Sequalitchew Creek down to its wharf. Sequalitchew Creek Trail is on the old rail bed.

picture taken by 12yo son

The trail travels down into Sequalitchew Creek Canyon following the creek. The path starts out higher than the creek, so that we couldn't really seek the creek much at first, and ends up at the same level as the creek. The well-maintained trail starts at near DuPont City Hall, 1700 Civic Drive, DuPont, WA 98327, and there are trail markers. The beginning trail marker stands to the left of the DuPont City Hall.  You can park right in the Civic Center parking lot. 

We walked the trail and the beach (we walked out to the cement ship) for a long while and were there close to five hours. It doesn't take that much actual walking time, but we stopped to look at the plants and the view, we took lots of  pictures along the way, three children explored the ship, one of my daughter's flip-flops got stuck in wet sand while she tried to grab a shell, etc. . .   We didn't realize we were going to be there so long, and some of us got a bit of a sunburn. My youngest, who is six years old, said it's the longest he's ever walked, and I think he's right!  He did really well, though.

To give you a better idea of how long it might take you to walk it, I tried to figure out how long the trail is by using Google Maps, and it looks like the trail down to the beach is about 1.25 miles long. Then at the beach if you want to travel over to the cement ship, it's almost one more mile of walking to get there.

A review of Sequalitchew Trail
Reviews of Sequalitchew Trail on yelp.com
Dupont City Maps -- On this page there is a map of the trails in DuPont that you can print off.
Dupont Museum Homework Helpers -- A great resource to learn about the history of the city of DuPont, including Sequalitchew Creek.

Part of the trail toward the beginning is paved.
You can see the hillside slanting down to the river on the left.
(picture taken by my 10-year-old daughter)

Much of the trail is gravel.
The trees and other plants are gorgeous.

We are getting toward the end of the trail in
this picture. At the end of the path is a tunnel.
(picture taken by my 12-year-old son)

Getting closer to the tunnel!
The tunnel runs under railroad tracks.

The tunnel! You can see a glimpse of what lies beyond. 

Going into the tunnel. . .
(picture taken by my 10-year-old daughter)

To be continued! I'll post pictures of the beach and the cement ship, plus more pictures of the trail, soon!

Edited to add:  Here is a link to the next post. . .  Sequalitchew Beach, DuPont, WA (our trip con't)