Saltar's Point Park

Saltar's Point Park sits on the Steilacoom waterfront in Pierce County, next to the Pierce County Ferry landing. The dive site is a cluster of wrecks out in front of the old Steilacoom Marina area at the point, with at least 6 boats down on the bottom. Most of the wrecks lie in 30 to 45 feet of water, and a Chris Craft cruiser rests in about 60 feet roughly straight out from the former marina. Shore entry runs directly from the town park at 91 Champion Street, a small waterfront green immediately adjacent to the ferry terminal.

The conservation area covers 4.48 acres of intertidal tidelands owned by the Town of Steilacoom, spanning the beach between Montgomery Street and Martin Street. That area and the water column above it carry a Washington state harvest closure that Washington enforces as a designated conservation area rather than through a broader marine preserve designation.

Underwater, the site carries a rocky reef biome, with the wrecks acting as the hard structure that concentrates fish and invertebrates. Scuba is the practical use of the site, and the wrecks themselves are the draw for divers who come to see the small artificial-reef community the wreckage supports.

Parking is limited to the streetside apron of the small waterfront park, and vehicle and pedestrian congestion peaks around ferry departures because the terminal shares the same road; restrooms are on site. Ferry traffic in and out of the terminal is an active surface hazard, and the terminal sits within a few hundred feet of the park. Take is prohibited within the Saltar's Point Beach Conservation Area for all fish and shellfish, and that closure has been enforced under WAC 220-303-060. Outside the conservation area line, Marine Area 13 rules govern the surrounding waters, with all rockfish closed year-round and lingcod spearfishing restricted to the May 21 through June 15 season.