When the thermometer starts inching into the high 70s around here, people start looking for a place to cool off. While we are surrounded by water, most of the time a day at the beach means pulling on the boots and wool sweaters. For those rare days when we can venture out sans long johns, Kitsap County contains one of the best sandy beaches this side of Hawaii. And it’s far less expensive to get there.

Point No Point is located at the northern end of the county, jutting out into Puget Sound where it meets Admiralty Inlet, just a stone’s throw across from Whidbey Island.

Even at high tide the point is surrounded by a wide sandy beach, mostly devoid of the rocky shoreline that makes building sand castles all but impossible. This sand is perfect for that pastime, as well as for just setting up the beach chair and watching the boats go by. Bring your binoculars — it’s a busy shipping lane, with everything from tankers and cruise ships to yachts and sailboats.

The beach is also minus those “No Trespassing” signs posted by private landowners. Point No Point Lighthouse and the three acres surrounding it is owned by the Coast Guard and leased to Kitsap County Parks and Recreation, which also owns the adjacent 57 acres.

From the small parking lot next to the lighthouse the beach wraps around the point to the south and extends into a long crescent. On a recent day, the beach was full of people of all ages engaged in a variety of activities. Many people fished from the shore, hoping to hook one of the salmon which pass by on their summer runs; others created sand castles of varying degrees of industriousness or watched the ship traffic with binoculars. One young man spent several hours with a boogey board, perched at the surf’s edge waiting to catch the perfect wave. On this particular day they were pretty tame, but he never gave up.

Some brave youngsters tested the chilly water, which was a beautiful clear green, while their parents hovered nearby.

The beach is perfect for picnicking and there are picnic tables on the grass between the parking lot and the beach.

The centerpiece of the beach, literally, is the historic Point No Point lighthouse. The small station went into operation New Year’s Day 1880, the first lighthouse on Puget Sound. It was originally lit with just a kerosene lantern, but that was replaced the next year by a prismatic lighthouse lens. In 1915 that one was replaced by a larger lens, which is still in place today.

However, the Coast Guard, which runs the station, recently upgraded the lighthouse with an automated optic light encased in plastic, mounted on the outer railing of the cupola, in front of the now non-functioning light that had served so long and so well.

The Coast Guard told the county that the light needed to be replaced because it was so old that finding replacement parts was difficult.

The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the county hopes to be awarded the building and site when the Coast Guard puts it on the excess property list, which is expected soon.

Whoever owns it, the lighthouse will continue to preside over one of the best beaches in Kitsap County, and all of Puget Sound.

You can add a tour of the lighthouse to your visit as it’s open for tours noon to 4 p.m. weekends.

To reach Point No Point County Park, from Poulsbo take Bond Road off of State Route 3, toward Kingston. just before Kingston turn left onto Hansville Road, follow it for 7.5 miles, then turn right onto Point No Point Road, just before Hansville. Observe the speed limit and watch out for the speed bumps. Be considerate of the folks who live along the much trafficked narrow road. It’s best to get there early in the day, as the small parking lot fills quickly when the weather is nice.