Tahuya State Forest
Click on Clear Sky Clock thumbnail for a detailed view.)
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Location:
For all sites, use the Tahuya State Forest map located at the Washington Department of Natural Resources site. (Map - .pdf)
Tahuya Site 1:
- Take Highway 300 (the North Shore Road) towards Belfair State Park.
- Continue past Belfair State Park and turn right onto the NE Belfair-Tahuya Road
- At N47 26.389 W122 54.856, turn right onto Elfendahl Pass Road.
- Turn left onto the East Tahuya Spur Road. The gate is at: N47 27.350 W122 54.593
- The gate to this site is closed indefinately. Park at the gate and walk to the clearing at N47 27.385 W122 54.814 It's a short walk on a good dirt road. Wagons can easily be pulled on it, and it's not hard for me to get my 8" dob to it.
The site is in a wooded clearing near several off-road trails. The horizons are a bit restricted by the trees, but there is plenty of good open sky. There are no artificial lights nearby, so one can get fully dark adapted.
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Tahuya Site 2 (Mission Creek Trailhead):
To get there from Belfair:
- Take Highway 300 (the North Shore Road) towards Belfair State Park.
- Continue past Belfair State Park and turn right onto the NE Belfair-Tahuya Road.
- The trailhead is located at roughly N47 26.332 W122 54.048
- If you get to the Elfendahl Pass Road, you've gone too far.
This is a large dirt parking area for the Mission Creek ORV trails. There is a fair bit of traffic that goes by on the NE Belfair-Tahuya Road, but trees and bushes block most of the light from cars if you set up at the very back end of the trailhead. Trees block the view to the south and east to some degree, but there is good sky here and no artificial lights except for passing cars. (This is one of the few places in the area to get cell reception, so some cars pull in to make a call. Last time I was there, one car did donuts and was quite annoying. I feel safe observing here, and this site works as a back-up when the Elfendahl Pass Trailhead is in use, but it isn't my first choice.
On a trip in 2007, I was there in mid-March at roughly 11:00 pm and could see all of Orion even though it was starting to get low in the east. Farther north, the Pleiades and Perseus were also visible. The Rosette Nebula was easily visible in my 8" from this site with a filter. I also had nice views of M51, the Leo Triplet, and M42 among other DSOs.
Photo from Terraserver:
Tahuya Site 3 (Elfendahl Pass Trailhead):
To get there from Belfair:
- Take Highway 300 (the North Shore Road) towards Belfair State Park.
- Continue past Belfair State Park and turn right onto the NE Belfair-Tahuya Road.
- At N47 26.389 W122 54.856, turn right onto Elfendahl Pass Road.
- Head north on the Elfendahl Pass Road.
- The trailhead is just east of N47 28.259 W122 54.797
This is a large parking area next to a campground for the trailhead. The campground is free, so it is sometimes used by partiers. The sky to the south is somewhat blocked by trees, but there are no artificial lights in the parking area and there is plenty of good sky to view. I prefer this site over the others.
Note: The parking lot is used for overflow camping during special events. So, you may find it filled up and unusable at times.
Photo from Terraserver
