Set on the Carr Inlet, Kopachuck State Park offers calm saltwater beach days and stunning views of the Olympic Mountains across the water. Families often come here for paddling, boating, or quiet forest walks, since it’s a quick 30-minute drive from Tacoma and only 15 minutes from Gig Harbor. The tiny boat-only-access Cutts Island is also a half-mile from shore for those adventurous paddlers. Kopachuck is also a beautiful place to stay into the evening and watch the sinking sun light up the sky in brilliant oranges and pinks.
The Puyallup and Nisqually tribes historically used this park to clam and fish. The name Kopachuck comes from the merging of two words from Chinook Jargon, the trade language of Coast Salish Indigenous people. “Kopa” means “at” and “chuck” means “water,” translating to “beside the water.”
