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Two in Tow & On the Go | History, nature and fun at Manchester State Park — battery included

Greg Spadoni explains cave-like formations inside an old ammo room at the former Battery Mitchell gun platform at Manchester State Park near Port Orchard.

We here at Two in Tow have once again adopted GHN history columnist Greg Spadoni for our summer column adventures. This is similar to last year when he bravely tackled Tacoma’s Slides and Stairs park with us (and lived to tell about it). With the Greg addition, we’ve upgraded the title of our weekly adventure outings to “Three in Tow Tuesdays” — at least until school starts. His latest pick was Manchester State Park near Port Orchard, a former military reservation turned beachy-forest-fun that was previously off my radar. I have to admit, it turned out to be a solid call.

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Manchester State Park

7767 E Hilldale Road, Port Orchard

Manchester full color map.pdf

Manchester State Park Brochure.pdf

This 111-acre state park has 3,400 feet of shoreline, 1.9 miles of trails and three sites on the historic register to explore. Visitors can picnic, camp, boat, fish, walk, birdwatch, play volleyball, and toss horseshoes there (horseshoes may be available  from the campground’s park office. See the map). 

Manchester State Park map. Source: Washington State Parks.

Middle Point Military Reservation

Originally known as Middle Point Military Reservation, the site was established around 1900 to reinforce Fort Ward on Bainbridge Island across the water. Both sites were positioned to protect the nearby Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, with Middle Point specifically maintaining an underwater minefield. The mines could be remotely detonated, were anchored in place and suspended from cables in a narrow section of the Puget Sound called Rich Passage. 

But advances in military aircraft soon made the posts obsolete. Fast forward about 70 years. When state parks commissioners first toured the property in April 1962, commissioner Joe Whiting called it “the grandest piece of ground I’ve seen in the whole state of Washington.” But Manchester didn’t open to the public until May 22, 1981, when it debuted with camping, hiking, water access, and some of the coolest architectural military history around.

Our day

We started at the beach, detoured to a remote shoreline with striking rock formations, looped back to Battery Mitchell, and ended at a handsome old brick building. It was the perfect mix of history, geology, and plain old fun.

In true mom-life fashion, we headed for the restrooms first, then strolled down to the beach where Bainbridge Island sat across sparkling water. Greg found perfect skipping stones and soon had the kids trying to match his five- and six-skip throws. They’d flick their wrists like he did, then laugh when their rocks plunked down after one or two hops. (I’m not saying how many skips I got.)

Rocks

From the main beach, we took the main trail uphill toward Battery Mitchell, but veered onto a small cliff path that led down to a quiet stretch of shoreline. Fallen trees formed a natural criss-cross jungle gym for Clara and Wyatt to navigate. Soon we were all crouched at the base of the bluff examining striped cliff layers in shades of rust, tan and grey, sandy rock that crumbled in our hands, and what 9-year-old Wyatt was certain were volcanic fragments.

We later learned he was right! And that the fragments, along with a rush of other rock bits, got there via ancient underwater landslides carrying debris from long-gone volcanoes. Geologically, Manchester is locally famous for its rare stacks of exposed Blakeley Formation bedrock jutting from its shores — unusual because most Puget Sound bedrock is buried under glacial debris.

Battery Mitchell

The former Battery Mitchell’s concrete gun platform.

The rocks were cool, but high tide eventually nudged us back to the main trail toward Mitchell Battery. I hadn’t known the battery existed, but I liked its blocky, moss-covered, outdoor bunker vibe.

The concrete artillery structure was designed for two rapid-fire guns, each with its own ammo room and what basically was a bomb shelter for crew members to duck and cover. but the actual guns planned for Battery Mitchell were never installed as  military tech improved and resources were diverted elsewhere.

Inside the old magazine rooms, stalactite-like drips clung to ceilings and walls. My flashlight made for great photos in the dimness.

We moved on to watch the Bremerton ferry glide through Rich Passage, kept an eye out for poison ivy, and sat on a bluff soaking up the afternoon light.

Torpedo warehouse

Eventually, we ended up back at the historic torpedo warehouse near the parking lot. Its tall arched windows and brickwork seem refined for such a practical building. Out front, giant mine buoys now double as kid-friendly loungers.

Built in 1901, the 3,750-square-foot warehouse stored the mines, anchors, and other gear before serving as an officers’ club, barracks, and mess hall in later years, according to State Parks. Today, it’s available to the public to rent for events.

Overall, exploring Manchester State Park checked all the boxes — history, nature, and fun — with each of us finding a different highlight to relive on the 30-minute-ish drive home to Gig Harbor.

See ya out there!

@two.n.tow

Tonya Strickland is a Gig Harbor mom-of-two and longtime journalist. Now in the travel and family niche, her blog, Two in Tow & On the Go, was named among the 10 Seattle-Area Instagram Accounts to Follow by ParentMap magazine. Tonya and her husband Bowen moved to Gig Harbor from California with their two kids, Clara (11) and Wyatt (9) in 2021. Find them on Facebook for all the kid-friendly places in and around town.