Fort Ebey State Park – state parks quest #55

Five things

#1. The military built Fort Ebey on Whidbey Island’s west side for use during World War II, when soldiers stationed here watched for enemy ships in Admiralty Inlet. Climb down into the pillbox set into the slope and walk through the battery above, and imagine what it might have been like to be on duty.

#2. Remnants of military infrastructure can be found throughout the park, often hidden by the forest that’s grown up in the years since the government declared Fort Ebey surplus in 1947.

#3. The slope below the battery, a short walk from the campground, is a popular spot for paragliders and sunset lovers.

#4. The Kettles Trails, adjacent to the state park to the east, wind up, down, around, and over depressions formed by retreating glaciers about 13,000 years ago. A glacial advance that reached the Penn Cove area just south of the park began its final retreat, and large chunks of ice broke off and were buried by sediment. As these melted they formed large depressions, which are today covered with a fern-floored forest that’s punched through with trails to make an excellent hiking and mountain biking network.

#5. With enough time, you could hike the Bluff Trail all the way to Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve and beyond. Or time your hike to walk on the beach, along the route of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.

Fast Facts about Fort Ebey State Park

• 651-acre camping park, open year-round (campground closed November-February)
• shoreline
• 39 standard sites, 11 partial utility sites, one water trail site for non-motorized boaters, one restroom, two showers
• 25 picnic tables, two reservable picnic shelters with grills, amphitheater, large fields
• 25 miles mixed-used hiking and biking trails, birding, wildlife viewing
• beachcombing, surfing, freshwater fishing, shellfishing and seaweed harvesting (permit required)
• Discover Pass required, $10 daily or, for a very reasonable $30, purchase an annual pass
• camping and roofed accommodations, hookups, reservable online or by calling 888-CAMPOUT
• park brochure
• park map

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Land Acknowledgment

Fort Ebey State Park occupies the traditional, ancestral lands of the Lower Skagit people, who have lived and travelled here since time immemorial and whose descendants are part of the Swinomish Indian Tribe. 

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