Spencer Spit State Park sign (Lauren Danner photo)
Washington state parks

Spencer Spit State Park – state parks quest #12

Several dozen of Washington’s state parks are island-based marine parks, in many cases reachable only by water. A handful, fortunately, are accessible by road, including Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island. During a recent weekend visit with Mr. Adventure’s brother Adventure Bro and sister-in-law Adventure Sis, we hopped on our bikes and headed over to explore.

Saltchuck lagoon

The access road to Spencer Spit leads to the camping areas and some hiking trails, but we were interested in the shoreline, so we followed a short trail downhill to the namesake spit.

The shady trail from the parking lot to Spencer Spit. (Lauren Danner photo)
Adventure Sis, Mr. Adventure, and Adventure Bro (l-r) hike the shady trail from the parking lot to Spencer Spit. (Lauren Danner photo)

As its name suggests, Spencer Spit is just that: a long sandy spit jutting out into Lopez Sound. Unusually, the spit forms one side of a triangle surrounding a saltchuck lagoon. In Chinook Jargon, the trade pidgin that developed around Puget Sound and the Columbia River in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, “chuck” means water. Thus “saltchuck” means saltwater.

Coming by water, this sign greets visitors to Spencer Spit State Park. (Lauren Danner photo)
This sign greets visitors to Spencer Spit State Park who arrive by water along the Cascadia Marine Trail. (Lauren Danner photo)
Looking across Spencer Spit's saltchuck lagoon. Ferries ply the far channel among the San Juan Islands. (Lauren Danner photo)
Looking across Spencer Spit’s saltchuck lagoon. Ferries ply the far channel among the San Juan Islands. (Lauren Danner photo)

On Spencer Spit

Standing where the forest meets the shore, the spit stretches away into the distance, framed by Frost Island in the background. At some low tides, Spencer Spit connects to much-smaller Frost Island, with its scattering of private homes. We started walking out along a wide path. With blue skies above and blue water on either side, it was a perfect Northwest day.

Oystercatchers poke in the seaweed for tideline snacks. (Lauren Danner photo)
Oystercatchers poke in the seaweed for tideline snacks. (Lauren Danner photo)
Mr. Adventure checks out the very end of Spencer Spit, with Frost Island beyond. (Lauren Danner photo)
Mr. Adventure checks out the very end of Spencer Spit, with Frost Island beyond. (Lauren Danner photo)

A small log picnic shelter sits near the tip of the spit. This is the second replica of a guest cabin constructed by the Spencer family in the 1910s, who lived here and on nearby Blakely Island beginning in the 1880s. The Spencers were the third Euro-American owners of Spencer Spit. The spit is part of the traditional territory of the Samish peoples, a Coastal Salish indigenous linguistic and ethnic group. Interpretation inside the shelter explains the human and natural history of the spit.

This log shelter near the tip of Spencer Spit is the second iteration of a guest cabin built here by the Spencer family in the 1910s. (Lauren Danner photo)
This log shelter near the tip of Spencer Spit is the second iteration of a guest cabin built here by the Spencer family in the 1910s. (Lauren Danner photo)
Looking toward Lopez Island from the log picnic shelter. (Lauren Danner photo)
Looking toward Lopez Island from the log picnic shelter. (Lauren Danner photo)

The day was so clear, so fresh, so idyllically Pacific Northwest. I dragged my feet on the way back down the spit, inspecting interesting driftwood and gazing at boats on the cerulean water. I never want days like these to end.

Kayakers in Lopez Sound off Spencer Spit. (Lauren Danner photo)
Kayakers in Lopez Sound off Spencer Spit. (Lauren Danner photo)

Superhero Ranger!

But we had more park to see, so we headed toward an intriguing stone building near the base of the spit. Turns out this is a root cellar built by the Spencers and rehabilitated by Washington State Parks. As we looked inside, a ranger approached and asked if we had any questions.

Ranger Meghan Herold cheerfully explained about the park’s history and structures, and we got to talking about how the role of park rangers has changed over time. “We do everything,” she said. “Pick up trash, rake paths, register visitors, even clean bathrooms!” In fact, she added, Spencer Spit has some of the cleanest bathrooms of any state park, a fact the staff takes pride in. We promised to check them out.

The rehabilitated stone root cellar is part of the Spencer homestead. It stands at the proximal end of the spit. (Lauren Danner photo)
The rehabilitated stone root cellar is part of the Spencer homestead. It stands at the proximal end of the spit. (Lauren Danner photo)
Ranger Herold gave us an enthusiastic education about Spencer Spit and the daily life of a state parks ranger. (Lauren Danner photo)
Ranger Meghan Herold gave us an enthusiastic education about Spencer Spit and the daily life of a state parks ranger. (Lauren Danner photo)

Ranger Herold works about a nine-month season, with a few months off in midwinter. She’s been working at Spencer Spit for more than five years and loves interacting with visitors in this island landscape. Lopez Island’s nickname is Slo-pez, a nod to its laidback attitude. Park visitors quickly adapt to the slower pace, which might explain the torpor that overtook me as I lounged in the shade of the stone cellar, thinking about how lucky we are to have such dedicated, enthusiastic professionals in our woefully underfunded parks (more on that in a future post).

View of the root cellar from the slope above Spencer Spit. (Lauren Danner photo)
View of the root cellar from the slope above Spencer Spit. That’s Mr. Adventure in the red cap and Adventure Bro behind him. (Lauren Danner photo)
Visitors can rent kayaks and bikes at Spencer Spit. (Mr. Adventure photo)
Visitors can rent kayaks and bikes at Spencer Spit. (Mr. Adventure photo)

We were starting to think about lunch, so we headed back uphill through the forest to our bikes. After making the promised restroom stop — sparkling clean, as promised, and coolly retro, too — we saddled up and headed out. Passing the ranger station, Mr. Adventure spotted a Little Free Library box and stopped to peruse the offerings. It seemed like the perfect coda to our time at Spencer Spit.

Fast facts about Spencer Spit State Park

  • 138-acre, year-round camping park
  • $10 daily parking pass (buy the annual Discover Pass, a bargain at $30)
  • campground with 37 standard sites, seven hiker/biker sites, three group camps, reservable during high season online or call 888-CAMPOUT
  • several beach campsites available for those arriving via Cascadia Marine Trail
  • picnic tables, picnic shelters, fire pit, nature center, playground, restrooms, kayak and bike rentals onsite
  • hiking, biking, beach exploring, birdwatching, wildlife
  • fishing, swimming, diving, clamming and crabbing (when permitted)
  • 11 moorage buoys
  • park map
  • park brochure