Cama Beach Historical State Park on Camano Island sits east of Saratoga Passage from Whidbey Island. Camano Island State Park rests midway down the island by Elger Bay. Moreover, Stanwood directly accesses the parks.
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Cama Beach Historical State Park at a Glance
Access: Parking lot (official park website)
Round Trip: 8.3 miles
Elevation Range: 10′-320′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
The Preface
Connor, the recruit, has been with us for a month and has done one hike short of a dozen. It was only on this trip that I began to feel the weight in my backpack. So I decided to let him walk parts of the trail.
Last week, we hiked through Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island. Today, we found more good weather in Cama Beach Historical State Park. We also looped through Camano Island State Park for more mileage.
See more trip photos here.
Cama Beach Historical State Park
We came to Camano Island first time three weeks ago but didn’t think we’d return so soon. But after seeing photos in some reports, it was worth another visit. I wanted to check out the viewpoint by Bluff Trail, where it views Puget Sound.
It turned out that the nearby Camano Island State Park was only a mile away. So I thought we’d connect the two if time allowed. The new plan would give us the extra mileage and exercise we needed through the flat ground.
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Cranberry Lake in Cama Beach Historical State Park
We first went to see Cranberry Lake sitting in the east park boundary. From the Bluff Trail Trailhead, it was a quick one-mile to the west shore. The trail went for another .1 mile, but we stopped on the peninsula to view the lake.
We met one runner in the old forest, then two hikers with their pups before the lake. The only downside was that Camano Drive cut through the middle of the park. The traffic coming down the hill didn’t want to slow down.
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En Route to Camano Island State Park
On the way back, we crossed Camano Drive again and somehow missed the connector trail. I checked my GPS and realized we were west of the fork. After turning around, we saw more hikers and their pups by the road.
Going south for a quarter of a mile took us to the south boundary. Then it was another .75 mile of mindless walking by the houses. Sadly, the private property along the water had removed much of the waterfront view.
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Looping Through Camano Island State Park
Soon, we hiked clockwise on the Loop Trail from the entrance. The path first went through the trees with limited views. But soon as we passed the campground, the landscape expanded with views to Puget Sound. En route were several benches as well as a handful of hikers.
Before returning to the park entrance was the last place with decent views. Since more people had entered the area, we didn’t stop there. So we went through the residential area for one mile before returning to the wooded Cama Beach Historial State Park.
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Bluff Trail Viewpoint Plus Exit
We walked through the parking lot and north on the Bluff Trail. At the first fork, I decided to loop the one mile through Marine Loop Trail. The section along Camano Drive wasn’t too exciting, but I could use the exercise.
The viewpoint was right off the trail but felt secluded with the trees and shrubs. The platform at the lookout looked new but wasn’t the best spot to view the sea. Instead, we went outside the railing for better views, including the cabins.
It took under half a mile to return to the parking lot. Along the way, we met several groups heading to the viewpoint. Meanwhile, the puppy enjoyed getting attention from everyone.
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