The best trail for senior dogs in this public access portion of the tree farm in Bremerton is the Dickerson Trail. From the parking area, you can either take the wooded path or the gravel road. Both lead to a bridge and waterfall. I much prefer the scenery of the wooded trail, but there are a few moderately steep hills that some dogs might have trouble with. I imagine these would be particularly slippery in the summer when the trail is very dry. Chops didn’t have any issues with going up the hills. We took the gravel road back so I can’t comment on her ability to navigate downhill.
Not my best photo but at least you can see that the path starts out pretty even and wide from the parking area
If you take the trail, you’ll find that the path is wide and even most of the way. Eventually the trail connects with the gravel road, and just before this intersection is a massive drainage culvert with a creak running through it. You can veer right to access the creek, or for a more stable option, take the higher path to the left. Once you get to the gravel road, take a right until you see a right arrow. Take the path the arrow indicates, which will take you to a large bridge with a waterfall underneath.
You can briefly walk along the creek or take an alternate, more stable path. This is the creek path.
Unfortunately, the trail beyond the bridge is very challenging for senior dogs. We tried it but I ended up carrying Chops almost the whole way. There is an interesting view of the waterfall from down below – either straight down from the bridge area or taking the path beyond the bridge and then going right, which loops back towards the waterfall. If you decide to check out the waterfall on one of these trails, be extra careful. The trail is narrow and very rough. Return the way you came or take the gravel road back to the parking area.
Note: If you’re able to take the wooded trail, I’d consider this a higher priority trail. But if you and your pup need the safety of a flat trail, the gravel road isn’t very scenic. The bridge is interesting, but is more interesting if you’re able to go below it to get a better view of the waterfall, but most senior pups will have trouble with this. Therefore, I wouldn’t place it at the top of my list of Kitsap hikes for senior dogs. Learn more about this public access area on the Ueland Tree Farm page. Review trip for all tree farm trails (not just this recommended one) on the WTA website.
Trail Map
Read about other hikes for senior dogs in Western Washington!
Hiking with Senior Dogs in Western Washington
