While people have returned to air travel, many have discovered the joys of the road trip. We are not just thinking about day trips, although fun, but instead considering multiple days of exploring things thoughtfully and slowly.
Dare to Spend Time
Taking a Camano Island road trip is both an escape and an embrace.
You are simultaneously taking flight from big city stress and embracing an island where time isn’t parsed by the minute.
With that comes a challenge. Don’t try to do too much. Dare to linger, and treat yourself to that ultimate luxury…time.
Camano Road Trip Rules
- You’re escaping to an island. Leave your mainland stress behind.
- Even though Camano is an island, you don’t take a ferry to get here!
- With this itinerary, you can start at the end, or end in the middle, or put the middle first.
- Don’t try to do it all. Do fewer things and have more fun doing them.
Downtown
Like any visit to a city, we’ll start downtown. For an island without a town, it’s unusual to talk about having a downtown, but that’s what many islanders call Camano Commons Marketplace.
Anchored by the massively popular Camano Island Coffee Roasters, this unique gathering of small shops and restaurants surrounds a grassy “market square” reminiscent of a downtown.
The marketplace stands as something of an unofficial entrance to the island. The road here forks, one branch heading north, the other south.
Hopefully, you started your day early enough that breakfast is on your mind. The Baked Cafe in the marketplace will make your early start worthwhile. Take your goodies and Camano Island Coffee outside to the market square and enjoy just being away from…stuff.
There’s plenty of other things to eat here, as well. And, it’s central location will help us stop by again, later.
First though, we head south.
Sculptures Among the Trees
Standing in the middle of this park that doubles as a sculpture gallery, you are greeted with one artistic surprise after another. Sculptures are carefully arranged among the trees in a conspiracy to delight and surprise.
You might be looking at one sculpture reposing quietly in the shade, only to realize some very human-like rabbit statues are watching you from beneath a nearby tree. From there, you look out, and the bronze figure of a woman is momentarily spotlighted by the sun. You find yourself looking up at an imposing sculpture two or three times your height, then looking down at an impish-looking thing that makes you laugh.
You’re in the Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park. Reigning over this is Karla Matzke, who has spent years shaping the land and the plants to compliment the sculptures that populate the park.
The spacious layout of the sculpture park gives you plenty of room to think, even on busy weekends.
Give yourself the time to wander the ten acres. Dare yourself to visit one part of the park, then look at it again 30 minutes later. Shifting light will likely direct your eye to something you missed the first time.
The indoor gallery offers a more traditional fine art experience, but the layout is roomy, uncluttered, and, like Camano Island itself, unhurried. There are plenty of pieces to make you think, maybe laugh, or say, “Wow!”.
Discover Pass
You’re going to want a Discover Pass, because you’ll be visiting several state parks, and this is a money-saver, especially since it’s good for all state parks for a year. You can learn more here…
Vintage Camano Parks
They’re both timeless and timely. Throwbacks from other times, Camano Island’s twin parks are the kind of simple escapes that are so vital in a busy world.
Through simple sounds like wind and waves, they wear away stress. Through beautiful water views, they charm the visitor. Through simple wood-hewn structures, they remind us of another time.
Much of Camano Island State Park was built in just a day. Why? Because the people on the island decided they needed one. When you visit today, you’ll find evidence of their work all around.
There’s more than a mile of rocky shoreline to explore along with hiking and biking trails. The main part of the park has numerous picnic tables with a beautiful view of Saratoga Passage.
The picnic tables are spaced well apart so that every group has room. They even have charcoal grills! Imagine grilling with a view of the water!
Note: The Cama Beach cabins, restrooms on the lower level of the park, and Center for Wooden Boats at Cama Beach have been permanently closed. The Cama Center and Cama Beach Cafe remain open, and the park is open for day use. Find more details here…
A mile to the north is one of Washington’s most popular state parks, Cama Beach. As a state park, it’s relatively young, but people have been coming here for thousands of years. As a place for fishing and crabbing, the park is legendary.
The cabins that have been a focal point of the park are closed until further notice, as are the restrooms at the lower level. Day use in the area will remain and the Cama Center remains open. You can read the latest from the state here…
The cabins are rustic reminders of the time they were built; practical shelters fending off the night’s chill. At Cama Beach, the rule is to, “Go play outside,” and it’s an easy rule to follow.
First, there’s the beach, as timeless as ever, and always a family favorite. There are hiking trails, including a bluff trail to give you a commanding view of the park and Saratoga Passage.
The cabin area is a car-free zone, giving kids the run of the place and parents some peace of mind.
Another fun place is the Center for Wooden Boats. People can rent a boat and a crab pot, catch Dungeness Crabs, then cook and eat them right on the beach. Be careful, having crab this fresh could spoil you for life.
Shuttle vans transport people from nearby parking lots to the park making the place safer for the little ones.
Zip Line
The Kristoferson Family Farm has been around in various Puget Sound locations since 1897. Whatever is going on in the world, you can be assured the family heritage survived it and even innovated along the way. As a dairy, it was the first in Seattle to offer glass bottles and pasteurization.
So, a few years ago, it was in the family’s innovative tradition that the Camano Island version of Kristoferson Farm offered the region’s first zip line.
More than an adventure, pay attention to the lessons about nature from your guides.
There are other adventures on the farm, including Adventure Terra, a team-building course.
Tack on som traditional activities like a spa visit, and some golf.
For many it’s not a real vacation without a round or two of golf or a trip to a beauty spa and they are available on Camano Island. Camloch Golf is an 18 hole course open to the public with social distancing restrictions. The Camano Island Day Spa, located at the Camano Island Marketplace, is also ready.
Dive Deeper – Take a Hike
There are many great hikes on Camano Island. Our directory has a bunch listed in detail.
