Aparkolypse 2015: Picnic Point Park

For our main picture, I asked my kids to pose like they were on the cover of a 90s grunge album, but Jason didn't comply.  This entry is full of pictures where the children refuse to look up, as if episodes of Spongebob Squarepants were being broadcast all over the ground.

With that informative introduction, Picnic Point Park is a charming place to have a picnic outdoors, take scenic walks, and for your daughter to collect seashells which she will later stash in her underwear.  It's a short hop from Picnic Point Elementary where the older two go to school, but it's not really a destination for the smaller kids.

Amenities/Facilities

Porta-potties are right next to the parking lot, which is great when you're coming and going, but it's a considerable walk if you're in the actual park area.  Parking was adequate, though we imagine at a busier time that it would get very dicey since the park isn't within walking distance of anything. A semi-elaborate pedestrian bridge connects the parking lot with the park.  If you're really in a hurry to dine outdoors, there's a random picnic table near the latrinal facilities and parking area.

"Let's pretend to go to the bathroom now, then harass Dad later!"

The pedestrian bridge exists so that you may safely cross over the train tracks that run parallel to the coast of much of western Washington.  A memorial plaque dedicates the overpass to someone who died in a tragic accident; here's a picture of the children smiling in front of it.

Voluminous fencing protects from any onto-track ventures, yet you are still free to slip and fall on the perpetually sandy overpass ramps.

Play

The main thing to do here is to host your small picnic or partake of recently legalized substances, apparently.  Though the tide was quite low upon our visit, we don't imagine the area is ever good for swimming and definitely not any barefoot exploration.  Picnic Point Park lacks any major running around room and there aren't any playsets (which technically would usually disinclude it from our list to visit, but I was falsely conflating it in my memory with Meadowdale Beach Park).

Review

There are some really solid places here for vagrants to make temporary shelter in the view of mid- to upper-six-figure houses.  Jilly was excited about collecting stuff off the beach, but the other two were fairly ambivalent about the visit.  We'd recommend Picnic Point Park for older kids and families to chill and cook out, just it isn't as interesting for younger kids.