Lake Goodwin - Free family fun!

Sep 2

The weather is suppose to be beautiful this weekend. If you do not already have plans on how to spend your labor day weekend, and you have young kids, you may want to consider a day trip to Lake Goodwin (out North past Marysville – think Smokey Point Exit). I use to visit this lake as a kid, but in recent years they have opened a second public access area that is perfect for those of you with young kids.

My family loves the lake, but with little ones it can be a little bit of a stresser on me (mom) trying to make sure I have a constant watch on my kids. This lake atmosphere did not take away the need to watch my kids, but did make it really convenient. It seems like this area is really made with families in mind (kids old enough to hang out on their own can hit the beach on the other side of the lake, for lots of big kid fun. There are spots for teens to swim at this lake out past the doc – my 13 year old had a blast, but we had a boat with us too).

The main reason this lake is so convenient for little ones is that you can walk out for a very long distance before the water gets deep. Kids can walk almost all the way out to the dock before the water gets too deep (see picture above for an idea of the distance). Even at the dock an adult can easily stand up to watch kids while they swim. On the other side of the dock the older kids can swim and have fun.

The beach is set up so its easy to watch your kids from multiple areas. There are no lifeguards on duty at this beach. My kids are too little to take any comfort in life guards, so this was not a problem for me. If its something that is important to you then this would be a con.

Lake Goodwin Park Shelter

There is a walking ramp to the doc for those that do not want to get in the water, but need to get out to the kids. There is also plenty of sand to build sand forts, etc. so bring those sand toys.

Right up from the lake there is a new play ground for the kids. It has some neat play structures, and is just as easy to watch your kids at . The picture above is only a partial view, there are a couple more play structures in the same space (including those fun rope webs the kids like to climb in). The play area is directly in back of the sand area you see in the picture at the top of the page. My little ones went back and forth between the water, the sand and the play area all day. I followed them in the water, but otherwise was able to sit and relax with family members and easily watch the kids.

The area is fairly new, and the bathroom facilities are still nice (its the beige building in photo above). Right behind the bathroom is the parking lot for the park. We were there last weekend, and there was an ice cream truck that shows up if you want to purchase some treats. They also have beverages for sale and other snacks.

There were BBQs set up throughout the park. I recommend getting there earlier in the day to get one though. The park was fairly quiet until around 1-3pm. Then it really started to fill up (we were there on a Sunday). There is also a shelter available for rental. If you have a boat there was plenty of inner-tubing going on, only you will need to launch at the park across the lake. You can dock right out in front of this area though. Parking was easy if you get there early, but the lot did fill up during the afternoon.

We drove from Kent, so it was over an hour to get there and then back too. We spent the entire day there, and we found it worth the drive. We were with family and friends and I felt relaxed at the end of the day, rather then worn out from chasing the kids everywhere (maybe that’s because we had grandmas and aunts and uncles to help with the watch process too . You could turn it into an overnight trip if you wanted to camp. They have a camping facility at the other Lake Goodwin beach I referred to above. You could then get this park by boat or a short drive.