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A
TOUR OF WHIDBEY
ISLAND
Many
recreational and historical sights greet
visitors to Whidbey Island. The
Mukilteo-Clinton ferry (our main office is
conveniently located 1 1/2 miles up the
highway from the ferry at Ken’s
Korner Mall), is the route of most
first-time visitors. First, be sure to
visit the town of Langley. Just off the
Langley marina, Captain James Vancouver
and his HMS Discovery made their eighth
anchorage during the discovery and mapping
of Puget Sound on May 31, 1792. The town
is widely known year-round as a
“quaint seaside” village of
shops and inns. It is the site of the
County Fair, held each year in August. The
Choochokam Festival of the Arts is held
each year in late June or early July. It
is a festival of national prominence.
Continuing northward one can return to the
main highway via 2nd Street and the
Saratoga Road around Fox Spit and Baby
Island, or via 3rd Street and Brooks Hill
Road past Lone Lake to Bayview. As one
continues north toward Freeland, a
diversion one-half mile south of Freeland
down Double Bluff (see our favorite picnic
spots), is worth a stop on a nice or
almost nice day. Freeland, the largest
community on south island, is nestled at
the southern end of Holmes Harbor, where
the island is narrowest. This community
was founded by utopian Socialists from the
Equality colony in Skagit County in 1900.
By 1915 the socialist dream was over.
Their attractive meeting hall at Freeland
Park on the water is their legacy. About a
mile north of Freeland, the more
interesting route north than along the
highway is to take Bush Point Road and
Smuggler’s Cove Road to the beach
community of Bush Point. Then visit South
Whidbey State Park (a semideveloped
facility with wonderful sand cliffs,
numerous Bald eagles’ nests, and the
last great virgin forest, “Classic
U”, across the road). Next visit the
Lagoon Point community, with access to
some of the world’s best steelhead
fishing. After rejoining the highway, a
turn south for a quarter-mile will bring
you to the Whidbey Winery site, once the
world’s largest loganberry farm, with
a tasting room and an unique gift shop.
Five miles further north, take Highway 20
westward to the Keystone ferry basin and
Fort Casey. Before turning sharply left to
follow Keystone Spit , past Crockett Lake,
you might continue ahead half a mile on
Wannamaker Road to the oldest building on
the island, a log blockhouse
“fort” on the left hand side of
the road. This is private property, please
respect the owner’s property. Return
the half mile to Highway 20 and you will
continue along Keystone Spit to the state
diving park, the ferry landing (to Port
Townsend and the Olympic Peninsula and
Olympic National Park), and Fort Casey - a
must see for military buffs and beach
walkers. Fort Casey is a classic example
of naval coastal fortresses of the late
19th century. There are many spots for
picnicking, and a lovely overnight
campground at the ferry basin. Do not miss
the scenic Admiralty Lighthouse and
museum, a pristine example of 1880’s
lighthouse architecture with
not-to-be-forgotten views of the Straits
of San de Fuca and the Olympics and the
night lights of Victoria, Canada. Bring a
kite - its usually windy here and is a
well-known area for kite enthusiasts.
Continue north on Engle Road, then turn
left on Hill Road for the short drive to
the Ebey Landing National Historic
Preserve beach park. This is an unimproved
facility excellent for beachcombing or
panoramic views while walking up
Ebey’s Prairie trail. Please use care
as the trail is on private property.
Continue driving north on Ebey’s
Landing Road, and across the highway
toward Coupeville’s waterfront
district to visit the second oldest town
in Washington. Just off Front Street is
the new Historical Museum and the log
blockhouse that was "Fort Ebey". For a
brief side trip to the grave site of the
last of Whidbey Island's Indian chiefs,
Charlie Snakelum, travel south on Parker
Road along the water. Where the road bends
directly south, one-and-a-quarter miles
out of town, turn left on Snakelum Road
and follow the narrow track to his grave
site. A more interesting route than
returning directly to the highway is to
continue on Madrona Way along Penn Cove
(famous for the Penn Cove mussel) through
the madrona trees to the Captain Whidbey
Inn, an example of early log structures,
and built as an hotel in 1924. The grounds
and setting are simply
magnificent.
Returning
north to the highway, continue west on
Libby Road to Fort Ebey and West Beach
Road for a windswept drive up the beach to
the naval air station where you must
rejoin the highway. Taking this route you
will miss Oak Harbor, the largest town on
the island, so you might want to backtrack
the three miles. Continuing north on the
highway takes you the nine miles to
Deception Pass and the state park many
consider the most beautiful in Washington.
There are two large campgrounds on either
side of the high bridge. For a tranquil
picnic or a walk on an agate beach, turn
left at the main park entrance and follow
the signs and wind down the narrow asphalt
road to the beach. It is usually
uncrowded, a good place to search for
agate, and has spectacular views up to the
high bridge (built by the WPA in 1936)
spanning the pass called "Deception"
because it remained undiscovered by seamen
for almost two hundred years. At strong
tidal changes you experience the east side
of Whidbey (Saratoga Passage) trying to
drain into or out of the narrow
cut.
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