Euri and I walked the Big Tree Trail in the Rhododendron Preserve, a patch of old growth forest just west of Bremerton that the Keta Legacy Foundation owns and looks after. It's only a mile and a half round trip, but there's a lot to look at on the way, and at the end there's a Douglas fir big enough to make two grown adults look like garden ornaments.
Trail details
The trail is 1.5 miles round trip with about 200 feet of gain, and WTA rates it easy: a creek crossing, a few switchbacks, and nothing to scramble. It took us about an hour. Park at the Kitsap Cabin and Kitsap Forest Theater lot, 2401 Seabeck Highway NW in Bremerton, and look for the kiosk at the cabin. The Keta Legacy Foundation says the lot can get very busy and asks you to drive slowly, since the entrance crosses private property. There's no pass or fee (checked November 2026), and dogs aren't allowed on the preserve.
Native plants everywhere you look
The preserve covers 466 acres, and the foundation says about 70 acres of old growth sit at its center. It's one of the largest pieces of lowland virgin forest left in the Puget Sound Basin, and it's only a few minutes from Bremerton.
The namesake rhododendrons were blooming when we went. The coast rhododendron is Washington's state flower, and it was nice to see them growing wild under the big trees.
The devil's club was huge, with leaves the size of dinner plates. It looks great with the sun behind it. Don't grab it, though. Those spines on the stems and veins are the plant's whole personality.
Add in the moss-covered cedars and the fungi growing out of the trunks, and you can easily spend more time looking than walking. The foundation asks you to stay on the trail and leave the rhododendrons, berries and mushrooms where you found them.
Mushrooms and birdhouses
Somebody has had a good time decorating out here. Carved wooden mushrooms painted bright blue and purple with white polka dots stand on posts, and birdhouses sit on stumps and sticks. One is built from weathered boards and driftwood with a yellow metal bird perched out front. Another is a tidy little black house with a squirrel figurine on the porch and a spider who has clearly moved in. The whimsy was half the fun of the walk.
Big Tree
The trail ends at Big Tree, a Douglas fir more than 30 feet around. The foundation calls it the largest publicly accessible Douglas fir in Kitsap County, and the "publicly accessible" part is real: a short walk on a good trail gets you to a wooden platform right at its base. You don't have to earn it, which is a nice change.
We enjoyed seeing it. Bring someone to stand next to it, because without a person for scale it just looks like a wall of bark.
Is it worth it?
If you're near Bremerton and want a short walk with a big payoff, yes. It's an easy one to fit into a day, and it doesn't need a pass. The foundation says salmon usually spawn in the preserve's streams in November, so fall is another good time to go.
If you want something that makes you sweat, head over to Hoodsport and read my Mount Washington vs Mount Ellinor comparison, or browse more Washington hikes.