Brackett’s Landing

Parking is rough. That’s the one drawback to this gorgeous viewpoint next to the Edmonds ferry terminal. You can walk along the sandy, rocky beach and head out on the spit to look at the Olympic mountains through the viewfinder. If you go after, say, 9am on a weekend, the place may be inundated with children, but there’s plenty of space for everyone.
Brackett’s Landing North (on the north side of the ferry terminal) has an underwater park for scuba divers; the beach at Brackett’s Landing South extends toward the Edmonds marina and is a lovely walk.

The dogs days of summer have been getting to me. So I decided to drive to unfamiliar parts to get me out of that rut. I came across Brackett’s Landing while visiting the Edmonds waterfront. It is located next to the Edmonds ferry terminal.
This beach park is a relatively small piece of land by the water. There is a parking lot for the park, as well as parking in the streets above as well. The beach here does have sand, but it is of the dirty and dark variety. This park is quite popular as it is full of scuba divers using it as a launch point. Apparently, there is an underwater trail by the park.
For those who stick on land, the views are the main reason to visit. In addition to the large ferry boats nearby, there is a majestic view of the Olympic Peninsula. You can also see the Olympic Mountains in the distance if it is clear.
I like this park and the Edmonds waterfront in general. It is a calm and serene locale. If you are looking to escape city life for a hour or two, visiting Brackett’s Landing is a nice place to go. Much more convenient than driving into the wilderness to get some quiet.

My favorite beach! Never terribly crowded, and lots of great hiking. I usually park in downtown, which always have free parking for 3 hours or more, then walk here, out to the jetty where they have a telescope and you can view the gorgeous mountains across the Sound. Then I hike across the ferry terminal, and all the way down to the dog park on the south end of Marina Beach Park. There’s little eateries and a hot dog place along the way, very clean bathrooms, and a peaceful, quiet harbor that somehow manages to keep the water crystal clean.
I come here at least a couple times a week just to walk and enjoy the scenery. Even on a cold rainy day it’s very beautiful and serene, and there’s tons of delicious and unique food options in the wonderful little downtown area of Edmonds. My hang out!

I absolutely love this park!!! I have been here many times and it never gets old. This park offers so much from watching the ferries come in and out with passengers to watching the trains go by, which I know kids love to watch, and you can watch people take diving lessons or just dive for fun next to the ferry terminal. There are plants of benches to sit and enjoy the amazing views of the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.
There is plenty of beach access to sit and relax on the nice warm summer days or just to sit and relax anytime year round. You can walk out onto the Edmonds Pier and look at all the boats in the Marina and watch some of the people fishing off the pier. I have taken many pictures out here and there are countless places to take some amazing pics!!! It’s very easy to spend a whole day on the waterfront since there are plenty of great restaurants in walking distance and parking is free for up to 4 hours. The only downside is that it gets very busy during the summer and parking fills up rather quickly so you will end up parking around the downtown shopping area and walking down, but it makes for a great walk. Just make sure you get here early.

A wonderful beach to go to in Edmonds. I could walk here from the Port of Edmonds in 15 minutes.
There isn’t that many rocks like with Marina Beach Park, it’s mostly sand. At this park, in low tide you can go under the ferry terminal and see starfish, small crabs, sea anemones, and sometimes (if you are lucky) octopus! Like Marina Beach Park, it’s a good place to watch the BNSF, Amtrak and Sounder train action [just watch out for their loud horns!] Also, in low tide, you could go for a ways north, to a small stream spitting out near Caspers St area, and maybe further. (I didn’t go that far North) Very popular on sunny days with kids and adults.

With free parking up to 4 hours, an incredible number of things to observe in low tide (a rainbow of anemone, starfish, sunflower stars, crabs, and more), Brackett’s Landing is the ideal place to go for a stroll (and people are so friendly, smiling, saying hello, or even striking up conversation), bring the family on a picnic (but please please please pick up your trash, otherwise the wind blows it into the water), go exploring, or just kick back in a not over-​crowded location.
Things to know:
1. There is a set of underwater trails and the parking lot can fill up quickly with folks and their diving equipment.
2. There is no lifeguard on duty, as it’s not really a swimming beach — too cold.
3. There are freight and passenger trains that come by and can blow their whistles SO loudly it might startle youngsters or elderly.
4. There is an outdoor shower of sorts of rinse the sand off your feet/​body
5. There are restrooms and they’ve been decent — good the dozens of times I’ve needed them.
6. Pay attention to the tide tables — if the tide is out when you start exploring on the north side and the tide starts coming in, you’re best to head back towards the ferry landing.
7. When there is a super low (negative) tide, bring some rubber boots out and come exploring under the pier. There are volunteer naturalists to answer questions and educate people — such as DO NOT pick up a starfish by one of its arms, pick it up by it’s center body.
8. There are lots of benches to sit on, so disabled/​elderly can enjoy it too.
9. Can get a bit crowded on a beautiful day, but you can usually find parking on a nearby street and walk down.
10. On cloudy/​sprinkling days, it’s almost empty and a spectacular time to go for a walk, listen to the small waves, and just breathe.
11. Just north, there’s a spot called the Waterfront Coffee Company that has DELICIOUS coffee and ice cream cones (Snoqualmie Dairy). :)

Beautiful! This is one of my fave places to walk down to to sit and relax! A little strip of beach and a dock to fish off of make a perfectly restful environment. Ferries to the left and trains from behind (grow up) also make for a romantic setting if it’s timed right in the evening (though the train whistle can also be a bit jarring)! Grab a coffee or a bite from nearby in downtown Edmonds and relax with the water. When the tide’s way out, you can walk way further to the north, too, which is always fun!

Nothing more than a stretch of beach near the ferry dock, but it is a very nice place to be on a warm day. Parking is almost always full so you may end up parking up top and walking down (or staying up and sitting on the benches to enjoy the view).
I’ve really only spent time here to release seabirds (work for a wildlife rehab center), and those birds love Brackett’s Landing! Lots of good viewing for seabirds of all sorts.

Gorgeous place. I rode my bicycle out on the jetty about sunset. Wow. Cool breeze, ferry drifts away, soft sound of waves against the rocks, the sun dipping behind blue, wispy clouds, distant squawking of seagulls, Mt. Baker to the north, and over the wavy, glistening waters, the white capped purple Olympic Mountain range. Too sweet for words.

Mournful sound of ferry boat horns, musical cry of circling gulls, gentle shusss of water on pebbled beaches… is this Heaven? No, not quite but somedays its close.