How to Use This Site

This site is all about trail maps and is intended to be used as a resource to help locate the right trails for you and your hiking and biking companions.  Just knowing there may be trails at a park is not necessarily useful.  Many people prefer to see what the trail system looks like, to avoid disappointment after preparing for a full-day hike and arriving only to discover a ½ mile trail.  Maps on this site will show you where to access the trails and if the terrain is steep or flat or a combination of grades.   The maps will also show the length of trails between intersections, allowing you to find the best place for an all-day hike or a more casual 30 minute walk.

Some hiking books and websites provide a turn by turn narrative for popular walks and  are quite useful , but that is not the focus of this site.  Most trails in our local parks are not named, but the maps show trail names where appropriate and mileage between each intersection with a few exceptions.  In some instances,  descriptive trail names such as  Trail to Beach or Campground Loop Trail have been inserted to give clarity.  Trail distances are only approximate but will help you visualize the length of each segment as you contemplate the various route possibilities displayed.  The actual distance between trail intersections is automatically calculated from the segment length on the map and may not exactly match other information.

Everything presented on this site will display on personal computers, phones, and tablets, but there is a chance that certain browsers or screen sizes could have display issues.  The site works best on a computer screen with a high speed connection.

A note on terminology:  The term park is used loosely to refer to any area with trails that has been set aside for public access and use.  Most of the areas featured here are true parks, but some are not.

A note on site navigation:  Most maps and pictures featured here are presented in image galleries, a carousel of related images navigable by clicking the left and right arrows on either side of the image border.  Before scrolling further down the page, check for navigation arrows next to the map or picture.

The main page gives background information on parks and trails throughout the county and is a great starting point, especially if this is your first visit to KitsapTrailGuide.com.

The Parks & Trails link will take you to a landing page with all of the available parks and trails presented in multiple mini-guides.  Make your selection to view all of the information and maps available for that particular park and its trails.  Each park web page will have a collection of custom maps to help you visualize the trails and surrounding areas in 2D and 3D.  Click any reduced-size map or image to see a larger version.  For each park, the initial trail maps show the designated park property in green with an elevation or hillshade effect added to illustrate the topography throughout the park.  This can help you to easily see what the terrain looks like. 

Trails within park property are considered primary trails and are symbolized by brown and white dashed lines.  A select few parks have additional trails outside the boundary, and considered optional add-on paths and are included for a variety of reasons.  In some cases, the add-on paths follow a road and connect two nearby parks.  In other cases, the surrounding neighborhood may be a great way to extend an otherwise short walk through a smaller park.  This will be explained in detail on the individual park pages found inside.

Some parks have a variety of trails and one or more primary or recommended routes, shown with a yellow highlighter.  Of course, you are free to choose any paths that meet your needs, but you may find the recommendations helpful.  Some parks have so many good trail route options making it impossible to provide a suggested route.

Trailheads and parking areas are symbolized in most of the park maps.  Keep in mind that there may be additional parking areas and trail access points in the area.  Always use common sense when parking at or near a trailhead.

Another set of maps shows the same trail system and park boundary but set against an aerial photo backdrop with a semi-transparent topography effect on top to help you visualize the area with a different perspective.  Finally, 3D perspective maps are provided for some areas to more naturally illustrate the terrain throughout the parks.