A faraway feeling close to home

Sooner or later hikers either must come to terms with rain or become fair-weather hikers, held in slight disdain by those who grumble but lace up their boots anyway.

It can be a challenge to get motivated when it rains an inch in a day -- but hike anyway. Believe me, it's the only solution.

A good place to shake off the doldrums is Priest Point Park, a 314-acre regional park three miles north of downtown Olympia. Though the park is only minutes away from town, it has an expansive feel, with trails on both sides of East Bay Drive and 1,000 feet of saltwater shoreline.

Priest Point is named for Father Pascal Richard and other French Catholic missionaries who arrived in the mid-1800s to minister to Native Americans. The missionaries built a chapel, cleared land, planted a garden and established a school for Native American boys on Priest Point.

Several tribes, including the Nisqually and the Squaxins, used the mission as a trading center. The mission closed in 1860 and the land became city property in 1905. The park is listed on the Olympic Heritage Register.

From the park entrance on East Bay Drive, a wide path descends to a picnic shelter, facilities, beach access and the Ellis Cove Trail, the park's piece de resistance. We wanted to concentrate on trails near the shoreline, so that seemed a fitting place to begin our hike.

The trail is designated by a signboard near the shelter and starts out in lowland forest. As you hike through the trees, look up from time to time -- you may spot a carved bear clinging to a tree. See how many other carved animals, including a sea otter, you can spot along the Ellis Cove Trail.

The trail provides several ups and downs as it dips to visit hidden inlets and climbs to bluffs above the beach. There's enough elevation to make it feel like a "real" hike as the path winds through forest, crosses Ellis Creek on a bridge and drops down to Ellis Cove, where Ellis Creek ends in a tidal estuary on Budd Inlet.

In addition to being lovely, Ellis Cove is a bird-watcher's paradise; we watched a heron slowly flap away, startled by the sound of our voices. Here we also paused to enjoy views of the state Capitol rising above Budd Inlet, the quiet colors of the cobblestone beach and the tea-colored water of Ellis Creek.

We found the tide low enough to continue walking the beach from Ellis Cove to an interpretive display depicting Native American traditions. Here hikers can turn around and return the way they came or explore other options.

When we reached the interpretive display, we climbed a well-defined trail to a pleasant tangle of inland loops above the beach. Here there are several unsigned junctions and our inner compass served us well. A profusion of secondary paths branch from the main trail system, and not all trails or junctions are signed. Not to worry -- even if you make a mistake you'll soon end up on the beach again or on East Bay Drive.

We soon recognized a major trail junction where we could have hiked back to the car or descended to Ellis Cove. We were so taken with Ellis Cove that we returned for another look. The tide was low enough that I was able to walk around the cove on sloppy mud flats to the south side of Ellis Creek -- sturdy boots are recommended for this slippery journey.

From either side of the stream you'll notice ancient piers, remnants of a bridge that crossed Ellis Creek long ago. Most hikers will find it much easier to get to the south side of Ellis Creek by hiking back on the Ellis Cove Trail to the shelter. From there a short path leads to a concrete platform overlooking the inlet.

* Getting there -- From Seattle go south on Interstate 5 to Olympia and get off at Exit 105B, then go north (right) on Plum Street and continue to the park on East Bay Drive (it is well signed). For more specific driving directions, visit www.mapquest.com/ From Seattle allow about 1.5 hours.

* Trail data -- The Ellis Cove Trail is a 3-mile loop. All in all, there are about 6 miles of trails within the park, with an elevation gain of approximately 200 feet. The park closes at dusk and dogs must be leashed. Biking is prohibited on trails or cross-country. The park has restrooms, a playground, gardens, picnic tables and shelters.

* Information -- Call Priest Point Park at 360-753-8380 or goto.seattlepi.com/r77 to see Olympia's Web page for this park. For a good trail description of this and other walks and hikes in the Puget Sound region, refer to "Take a Walk" by Sue Muller Hacking (Sasquatch, 246 pages, $16.95).

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