Camano Island State Park – state parks quest #5

The long, curved beach. The yellow sand and clay cliffs. The quiet forest dappled with early spring sunshine. The views across Saratoga Passage. There are many things to love about Camano Island State Park, but this is my favorite: it was built in a day.

I grew up in New Jersey, where beaches are the stuff of legend and Springsteen songs. As a kid, a trip to the shore was something to look forward to, a chance to splash in the warm Atlantic and maybe, if we whined enough, get some saltwater taffy. The key to those experiences was miles and miles of public beaches. This is something Washington State does not have. Waterfront property owners in Washington own the land all the way to the tide line, which in practice means most Washington residents only have access to the beach at public parks.

Rome wasn’t built in a day–because it didn’t have Camano Islanders.

In the late 1940s, residents of Camano Island looked around and realized much of the 15-mile-long island’s waterfront was being bought by private owners, some for private homes and some for fishing resorts like that at Cama Beach. Alarmed that no public park existed for islanders, a group led by the South Camano Grange convinced the local parks commission to buy 93 acres on the southwest part of the island for a park. “The fishing is good, the clams delicious and the waterfront is easy on a fellow’s feet,” the petition said. The commission agreed — if residents would build the park infrastructure.

Announcements went up around the island: “Every man and woman who can possibly come bring working tools such as axes, saws, spades, rakes, and picks.” And in one long, glorious summer day, July 27, 1949, more than 900 volunteers showed up to make their park. They cleared land, dug a well, and built a road. In one day.

Setting aside the depressing thought of how much bureaucratic red tape a similar proposal would have to go through today (off the top of my head: environmental reviews, hearings, volunteer background checks, municipal ordinances, liability release forms, permits, court appeals, training, public comment, more hearings — oy), it warms my heart to think of all those folks showing up to build themselves a place where they could picnic on the beach, watch eagles wheel overhead, and wander through the forest.

Thanks to them, we can do the same thing 70 years on. Which is pretty much how Mr. Adventure and I spent our time here.

Camano Island State Park today

In the years since its creation, Camano Island State Park has grown from the initial 93 acres to 244 today. Campgrounds, cabins, boat launches, restrooms, and picnic areas offer plenty of options for visitors. We walked into the park via a connector trail from Cama Beach State Park, where we’d spent the previous day, and started hiking into the woods.

Which trail is this again?

Handsome trail signs, nailed to pressure treated timber uprights, appeared regularly. Unfortunately, they simply confused us. We were trying to follow the Loop Trail, which, as its name suggests, loops around the park’s perimeter. But some trail markers pointed to the North Rim, or the West Rim, or a trail named for a park volunteer that did not appear to be part of the Loop Trail but turned out to be. The posted trail map wasn’t all that helpful, either. It was a bit irksome, but since the park is essentially a hillside dropping down to the shore, it’s difficult to truly lose one’s way.

We walked along a wide trail that looked like it doubled as a service road, missed the turnoff for the full Loop Trail, passed the cabins, and finally decided to head downslope toward Lowell Point and the beach.

Main attraction

Now we’re talking. A long beach curved south, squeezed between the blue waters of Saratoga Passage and tall, tree-topped bluffs. Picnic tables were scattered above the high tide line, and a large group kitchen shelter offered shade and barbecues. Several dozen cars were parked in the large lot, and various motor boats drifted in the channel. Whidbey Island is less than three miles away across the water, and the Olympic Mountains filled the horizon beyond.

We passed a group of kayakers readying their sleek wooden boats for launch and wandered along the shoreline. Three bald eagles dipped and floated overhead, vanishing into the trees. A large snag stuck straight up out of the rocky beach, and as we neared it we realized a hawk sat atop it, motionless and glaring. No, I didn’t get a good picture, and no, I don’t know what kind. Big.

The beach just kept going and going, past tall yellow bluffs with evergreens clinging to their eroding sides. I was, as usual, distracted by the patterns and shapes of cobbles underfoot, many adorned with bleached barnacles.

Finally, we followed a path upward, where we found a row of storm-proof picnic tables, interpretive displays, and the original kitchen shelter built by those initial volunteers. From there, it was a short walk to the top of the bluff, the main access road, and the trail we walked in on. Before leaving the park, we passed the ranger residence, a classic midcentury modern structure. I bet it’s fantastically retro inside.

Camano Island State Park was quieter and less crowded than neighboring Cama Beach, at least on the day we visited. I’m sure it gets packed in the summer, full of island residents enjoying the park their predecessors built in a day.

Fast facts about Camano Island State Park

• 244-acre camping park, open year-round
• $10 daily parking pass (buy the annual Discover Pass, a bargain at $30)
• campground, cabins available, reserve online
• picnic areas, picnic shelter, kitchen shelter, braziers
• hiking, biking, metal detecting in limited areas, sports field
• boat ramps, boating, waterskiing, kayaking, canoeing, sailboarding
• beach, crabbing, fishing, swimming
• interpretive programs (summer), amphitheater, fire circle
• birdwatching
• park map
  
  

Many thanks to Washington State Parks rangers, staff, and volunteers for information and clarifications about Camano Island State Park!