Camano Island

Bob and I first heard about Camano Island from our sister-in-law, Kristen's parents when they visited several years ago. They told us how pretty it was and it's been on our list of places to explore ever since we've arrived in the Northwest. Last Tuesday evening we attended a book talk by a local hiker and one of the hikes he recommended was on Camano Island. With the weather continuing to be sunny and spring like, we figured today was the perfect day to head on out to Camano.

Camano Island is a little more than an hours drive from Bellingham and has easy access, as no ferry is required. It was an especially clear day, with good views of the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. At Cama Beach State Park we not only enjoyed the water/mountain vistas, but loved the cute 1930's cabins that have recently been restored. We found out that this new state park was 20 years in the planning and has been very popular since opening in 2008. The cabins are right on the water and we gathered brochures, thinking this would be a great getaway someday.

We then headed on our little hike through a lovely wooded area. We could hear the birds singing and some bugs even flew by (remember this is still February)! Our destination was Cranberry Lake, but it really was more of a marsh. It wasn't the prettiest lake we've seen, but we got some interesting photos of cattails and green plants growing in the water.

We then headed to Camano Island State Park and that was very impressive as well. The beaches here are quite rocky, but wide and beautiful to view. At this vantage point, the Olympics looked even more spectacular. There are lots of nice picnic spots in the park, with cabins and camping spots located in a more wooded area.

Recently a facebook friend asked people if they preferred mountains or water. I am definitely a "mountain" girl, but it's so nice that I live in an area that doesn't force me to make a choice. Water or mountain...it's all here in the beautiful PNW.