Exploring McMicken Island with a State Parks ranger

By Meryl Lassen

I had the opportunity to visit Harstine and McMicken island state parks for the first time this year during Earth Week. The draw was a guided hike with State Parks rangers Lucas Marin, John Garcia and Liesl Plomski, all legends for their work across South Sound state parks. 

Since our hike took place at low tide, we were able to cross the tombolo connecting Harstine Island to McMicken Island, a tiny park accessible only by boat – except at a minus tide.  

From the moment we arrived, the event felt more like a community gathering than a hike full of strangers. The 3.8-mile round trip drew 48 participants ranging in age from 10 to mid-70s. They represented Mason County communities, with a few visitors from Olympia and a couple from Seattle and Maple Valley.  

Rangers Liesl Plomski and John Garcia led the group across tidal flats teeming with life, while Ranger Lucas Marin directed traffic and parking. Highlights included a rough-skinned newt spotted trailside and a stretch of beach blanketed with thousands of sand dollars — some alive and purple, others brittle and orange. 

Ranger Plomski, who holds a Master's degree from The Evergreen State College and has deep roots in the region, explained how freshwater creeks carry sediment onto the beach, creating ideal sand dollar habitat. Her knowledge kept us engaged throughout the hike as she answered questions about the park's history, landscape, flora and fauna.

Her teenaged kids joined the hike as well. At a snack break they mentioned with pride that their park ranger mom sometimes kayaks to work. Then they took off, leaping over streams and kelp beds, prompting one senior citizen to say, “I get by with a little kelp from my friends.” 

McMicken Island's forested trail canopy, a geoduck farm near the tombolo and the sight of those geoducks squirting water delighted hikers of all ages.  

I was happy – but not surprised – at the collective empathy among the participants; from alerting hikers behind us to newts and banana slugs on the wooded trail to tiptoeing among the sand dollars on the beach, we all tried to lessen our impact on the park’s living inhabitants. 

We also picked up shoreline trash, reflecting the stewardship ethic embodied by Earth Day and State Parks alike. 

Earth Day events like the Harstine Island hike demonstrate the enduring value of our 120-plus park properties as places for outdoor recreation, environmental education and community connection. For a few hours on a cloudy afternoon, 48 of us stepped outside.

We smelled the briny air, felt the wind on our faces and put new words to Beatles songs. We turned our phones into cameras, talked with neighbors and strangers, connected with our natural surroundings and experienced firsthand what makes our planet – and Washington state parks – worth protecting.