Fort Townsend State Park

   Fort Townsend was built in 1856 to protect settlers from the Native Americans which must not have been much of a problem because it closed three years later. It was reopened in 1874 and operated until 1895 when a fire destroyed it. Nothing is left of the early buildings but there is an interesting WWII era brick tower that housed a 2 million volt x-ray machine used to examine the workings of Japanese torpedoes so that they could be diffused.

   The park has two campground loops, one for tents and one for RVs. We stayed in the RV loop which has thirteen sites, very close to each other and lined up side by side. Amenities include restrooms with showers, potable water, and a dump station.  Due to the tight sites I don’t recommend camping here with an RV.

   None of the sites are specifically designated as accessible but most are usable. The trail to the beach is not accessible. The trails in the park marked with dashed lines on the map are wide and hard packed but have long, steep hills. Wheelchair users may be able to access them with the assistance of a strong helper. Park  48.07417, -122.78869