What a beautiful botanical garden! If you like flowers, rare and exotic plants, and a bit of…read morehistory of the area, this is your place. Upon checking into the Kingston area for places to visit, this one popped up in my search, another hidden secret, none of my Washington native coworkers seemed to know. Well, being the plant nerd I am, it was quickly placed first on my list of adventures in the Kingston area. Beautiful entrance, not easily seen if you're flying by. Lots of hidden treasures throughout, plants and additional ornaments ( like the old dump truck or piano) some of the gardens, especially around the old homestead are well developed, but there are quite a few newer additions and more being developed. Staff was very helpful and knowledgeable, Norma Jean was great! Not only with the history and plants of the gardens, but other places to check out in the area as well. The Port Gamble S' Klallam tribe purchases the gardens in 2012 and with the assistance of one of the originators, Dan Hinkley, it has been restored, rejuvenated, and additional gardens are growing. It's worth multiple visits during the year as the many rare plants go through blooming seasons and the colors of new growth and flowers change. They also cultivate a nursery of quite a few of the rare and unusual plants, definitely there will be some purchasing in future visits. This garden is easily walkable and not large, well worth the ten dollar ticket. Enjoyable for anyone who loves nature and being outdoors. It alone was worth the ferry ride over to Kingston. Enjoying the beautiful weather and flowers. Happy Yelping!

I got married at Heronswood! This was some while ago, before same-sex marriaged became legal…read morenationally, Washington state being ahead of the curve. On the first day it was legal, we and a half-dozen other couples were hosted by the S'kallam tribe, who went all out for us, and covered all the costs. What a gift to the local LGBT community! Burpee bought out the original nursery many years ago, and it went downhill for a while, but since it was sold to the S'Kallam tribe, they've restored it to its former glory, and even hired the original founder (well-famed Dan Hinkley) to help maintain, restore, and manage it with a group of volunteers. Dan once again travels in search of unusual plants ideal for temperate gardens. This is worth visiting just for its park value, and definitely worth a special trip even from far off, though always make sure of the hours before setting out; they keep limited public hours (generally Fridays 10 am to 3 pm, but sometimes other days and longer hours depending on events and special sales and such). The plant collection is unique; the park areas and buildings can be rented for weddings and private events; and the nursery arranges all sorts of seasonal public events worth attending. Take their tour, it's incredibly informative in addition to simply beautiful.

There's not that much parking in the lot, but we were able to find a spot because we came on a…read moreweekday. I knew double bluff has an off leash section, but the multiple signs were confusing, especially the ones that say only humans can enter through a certain point. It was nice to see showers and dog washing stations, but the lower ones weren't working, and the main showers only work if you keep pressing. The only bathrooms were portables. It's a long walk to the off leash section, so if you want more room to yourself, you have to go farther. The beach was shallow enough for a long ways. The seaweed closer to the parking lot side of the beach seems to be wasting much of the shoreline, unless it's always like that. There were multiple dry sheets of seaweed throughout the sandy parts, but they can be avoided since the beach front is so vast.

Best beach I've been to on Whidbey Island and it's always my go-to. Clean and so much sand for…read moreeveryone to spread out. Great for kids - lots of wood forts and a sand dollar haven when the tide goes out. We've also clammed here and had success. Highly recommended!

Beautiful shoreline though packed with litter! We ran out of receptacles! There's a lot more trash…read moreall along the road and during rain will surely end up in the water! There were no trash bins to be found! No signs or evidence of any type of management or maintenance in the area. Gate was already opened at6:45 am. Such a shame to leave a state park property in these deplorable conditions! Real shame.

Pretty great park to dig for clams. I would say you better come here an hour before low tide…read morebecause the parking is nuts. There are only about 20 spots near the beach. You can park on the side of the road but there are signs up that says that you can't park in certain areas. It isn't all clear so you run the risk of getting towed. Make sure you count your clams too because the rangers do patrol these areas. We got a lot of yummy manilla clams here.

This park has come a long way the last few years. Great parking, waterfront views, dog walking and…read morea children's playground and riding apparatus! The park is well maintained and most people follow the rules.

Nice little beach access. Clean picnic tables and easy parking. Everyone was observing the dogs…read moremust be on leash sign. Last time I was here there was a building for the restroom, now only portable toilets available. Other than that, me and my dog enjoyed ourselves.

Short half-mile loop walk through a beautiful forest with rushing falls on the river. While the…read morefalls themselves are not spectacular like other waterfalls along Hood Canal, the walk gets five stars from me because it's so impeccably maintained by the community (presumably volunteers). There are lots of interesting signposts along the route and you can tell this place is lovingly looked after by the community. It's a pretty easy walk -- my parents are in their 70s and had zero problems. (There's a flight of stairs near the waterfall but other than that, it's an easy stroll.) To get to the walk, drive toward Port Ludlow but don't go all the way to the water's edge where all the touristy stuff is -- instead, turn right on Breaker Lane where the RV park is, and then turn right again into the Port Ludlow & Associates building parking lot. (Put "Port Ludlow & Associates" into your Google maps for the best driving directions.) Drive all the way to the end of the parking lot and you'll find a little community patch of lawn with planted trees that leads up to the trailhead at the edge of the forest. Turn left at the trailhead sign (for a better walk experience) and follow the loop around to the falls. Again, don't expect any spectacular waterfalls, but this is a great easy "back to nature" walk that leaves you with a nice feeling because of how the community looks after it.

This is a cute lil trail. Not much to do around Port Ludlow so I'd highly recommend this based on…read morethe close to zero options you have! It's a loop trail so just keep walking. An easy half mile (?) and boots will be fine but white shoes are a no go :(

First time her with my dog. pretty cool and clean. Lots of parking and open spaces to run and…read moreenjoy all the smells away from others. Then there is a section for kids cool. We will definitely return. It was good to be able to get out. I'm glad it's clean and kept up very well. Good location.

This is one of our favorite parks! We've celebrated our daughter's birthday here as well as enjoyed…read morethe spray park several times. There's ample parking around as well as near the playground. There's plenty of structures for little and big kids. And the shave ice spot is convenient and refreshing in the summertime!

This is the first adventure dive my boyfriend and I hit up right after obtaining our PADI license…read moreand it was a great experience for beginner divers. We rented our gear from the dive shop right in front with two tanks and got into the water at 5pm. We were lucky that day as the waves were calm and visibilitiy was 40-50 ft. The good thing was the walk at the sand was short but the surface swim to the first buoy before we sank down was a 10 min swim and easy to cramp up in cold waters. We saw enormous groupers, sunken ships, crabs, large sea slugs and my boyfriend even claimed he saw a seal pop his head up to the surface when we were swimming back to shore. The best recommendation for this dive is to call the dive shop in advance to check if other divers said the visibility that day was good - makes a world's difference!

CALLING ALL CERTIFIED DIVERS WHO VALUE THE UNDERWATER WORLD::::: Do our activity a favor and come…read moreon down to the Edmonds Underwater Sports dive shop every Saturday or Sunday morning at 9AM and wait for Mr. Bruce to come in to brief you on the days' plan. Bruce Higgins is the caretaker of the Park and for those who know him know him as a walking history book not only on the Park, but of diving in general. I have spent many Saturday and Sunday mornings volunteering my time (the only way that upkeep is made on the Park) to help keep up the Park's condition. The Park is a phenomenal dive location due to the significant number and types of marine life that are visible day and night. So come on down and introduce yourself to Mr. Bruce. Bring your gear and give some time to maintaining the Park. You'll have a great time and Bruce and everyone that dives there will appreciate the help. S