The whole family will enjoy exploring this unearthly landscape of carved hillsides and towering ruins on the shores of Puget Sound. Once the site of a quarry and cement plant, Chambers Bay has been artfully restored to create a pleasant park and Scottish links style golf course. In this unique setting, you will enjoy views of the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound and nearby islands as you explore Chambers Bay’s history and rugged contours on this easy loop.
Set off towards the water along the paved trail. You will pass a small dog park to your left as you approach a viewing platform that projects over Puget Sound. You will enjoy vistas of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains as you traverse the length of this elevated walkway.
Soon after returning to the main walkway (the aptly-named Sound View Trail), you will pass a small trail down to the shoreline—another worthwhile diversion. Once you have explored the shoreline to your heart’s content, return to the main trail. You will pass towering cement structures reminiscent of ancient ruins, remnants of a large factory. These areas are ideal for jumping, climbing and tag games for all ages.
Next the path will wind its way into a series of knobby hills speckled with sand traps. The trail briefly becomes gravel here, but it remains level and broad.
In less than 0.2 miles the pavement will resume as you will enter a small stretch of forest and ascend a brief, moderate hill. At the hill’s crest, the trail will bend gently left.
You will begin to trace the rim of the quarried basin, on the aptly-named Grand View Trail. Atop these carved bluffs you will enjoy vistas of the park’s unusual, rolling hills and the broad expanse of water, hills and mountains beyond.
Follow the trail as it wraps around the park’s border, offering many stunning panoramas before it descends to the clubhouse and the parking lot where you began your hike.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Elevation gain: 170 feet
Distance one way: 3.25-mile loop
Best season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Trail head amenities: Restrooms, Potable Water, Dining
Passes/Permits: None
Open to: Hikers, Dogs, Bicyclists
Maps: USGS: Anderson Island, WA and Steilacoom, WA; Pierce County Chambers Creek Properties Trail Map (hard copies are available at the Chambers Bay Environmental Services building or the Chambers Bay Clubhouse, and the PDF is available online at
Agency: Pierce County Environmental Services
Directions: WA-16 West from Tacoma: 1. Travel west on Highway 16. 2. Take Exit 2A for South 19th Street West. 3. Turn left on South 19th Street. 4. Turn left onto Grandview Drive West after 1.3 miles. You will have views of Puget Sound to your right. 5. You will pass through two traffic circles; continue straight through both to remain on Grandview Drive. 6. Turn right at the Chambers Bay Golf Course entrance just after you pass 60th Street West. 7. Follow the road downhill past the Clubhouse to the second parking lot.
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