Illahee State Park
Established in 1934, Illahee State Park is a cute, lil’ area with camping under the trees and saltwater access on Port Orchard Bay.
There’s also a memorial of two large naval guns donated from the U.S.S. West Virginia.
Bring your dog (as long as you keep them on a leash) and check out the 400 year old trunk of the previously oldest yew tree in the nation. (Sadly it fell in 2021.)
Address: 3540 NE Sylvan Way, Bremerton, WA 98310
Day chilling
You can chill by the water on the boat launch, dock, or pier day use area. It seems like a great place to paddleboard and people also dive there. Or you can hang under the trees at three year-round reservable covered picnic shelters, one small reservable covered picnic shelter, or 90 unsheltered picnic sites with barbecues.
Parking and restrooms are available near the water and under the trees.
There’s also a field to play softball, volleyball poles (but no net), and a children’s play area (literally just a slide haha). Supposedly there’s horseshoes somewhere as well but we didn’t find it.
Hiking
There’s a little half-mile trail that goes through the park (parts of it are pretty steep but it has stairs). We didn’t do this yet, but you can put together a 3-mile stroll.
Camping
With gorgeous views of the Puget Sound, this park has year-round reservable or first-come-first-served camping with 23 standard sites, two utility spaces, one full-hookup site, a dump station, four restrooms, two showers. Campsites can accommodate tents, campers, and RVs (no hookups, up to 40 feet).
Other things to note:
Check-in time is 2:30 p.m., and check-out time is 1 p.m
Camping reservations may be made for arrival dates between May 15 and Sept. 15
Reservations may be made up to nine months in advance.
If you have unlimited data, you can work from the campground area with a hotspot. (We had 5G.)
Fishing, shellfishing, and crabbing
If you have a recreational license, you can fish and harvest shellfish. They say during crabbing and oyster season, the beach is a good spot. And lots of people fish from the pier.