Canoe Families make a stop at Saltwater State Park on July 26 during 2025 Paddle to Elwha Canoe Journey

OLYMPIA — The traditional lands of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, on the present-day beaches of Saltwater State Park, will welcome traditional canoe families on July 26.  

Arriving canoes will ask the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe permission to come ashore and share in ceremonial songs and dances. 

The stopover is part of the 2025 Paddle to Elwha Canoe Journey, which is hosted by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. The final landing is on July 31 at the mouth of the Elwha River.  

Day of the landing 

Canoe landings will occur throughout the day on the beach at Saltwater by the concession building.

Landings are a large-scale community event and require many volunteers to help canoe families, shuttle Tribal Elders and carry people and gear from the landing site to camp site. 

Parking in front of the beach will be reserved for Tribal Elders and visitors with a disability placard. The upper parking lot by the park entrance will be a holding area for shuttles. 

Visitors to the park should expect and plan for increased traffic congestion, limited parking and crowds.

In support and partnership with Tribes, State Parks staff is responsible for park logistics and will have staff and signage available to help direct traffic. If you have questions or are not sure where to go, ask uniformed State Parks staff. 

How to share the park during Canoe Journey 

Canoe Journey is a sacred ceremony to the Muckleshoot People, and State Parks asks the public to show their support by respectfully observing while visiting the park on July 26.

There will be a designated public viewing area for those interested in watching and learning more about Canoe Journey. 

Please follow these guidelines to respectfully share the space: 

• Pay attention to what is happening and step back to allow space for this to be about Indigenous people. 
• Listen and observe. Do not interrupt preparations or ceremony to ask questions. 
• Be quiet and respectful. Don’t talk during a prayer, a song, when an Elder is talking or when a canoe family is requesting permission to come ashore. 
• Avoid swearing, speaking loudly or speaking in degrading ways. 
• Do not touch the canoes unless you are invited to do so. 
• Walk behind singers and speakers. Do not cross in between the greeters and canoes.  
• Please remind children not to play in the water near the canoe landing ceremony. 

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is honored to lift the voices of the Indigenous People who will gather for the 2025 Paddle to Elwha. Though State Parks is the current steward of some of these lands, these are the Traditional lands of the Muckleshoot People since time immemorial. As an Indigenous ally, State Parks is privileged to use its platform to share these stories in partnership with the Tribes.