This weekend Lapster and I went on our first camping trip of the season. We usually plan a few weekend excursions each summer. This year, we decided to get started early — and headed up to Deception Pass. Washington State has an incredible number of parks (120 state parks, 4 National Parks, and 5 National Forests). But regardless of all those options it can be impossible to find a cool place to camp some weekends.   Parks can be booked weeks or months in advance. But we were lucky. . .

For those of you that don’t live in the Pacific NW the Washington State Park Site describes Deception Pass as. . .

Deception Pass State Park is a 4,134-acre marine and camping park with 77,000 feet of saltwater shoreline, and 33,900 feet of freshwater shoreline on three lakes. Rugged cliffs drop to meet the turbulent waters of Deception Pass. The park is outstanding for breath-taking views, old-growth forests and abundant wildlife.

Every word is true.  It is a narrow body of water separating Whidbey Island from Fidalgo Island, in the northwest corner of Washington State (for more detailed info — check out the wiki).  What makes the pass so unique is the narrow waterway has competing turbulent tides and currents creating swirling shapes and a crisp blue/green color.

Did I mention. . .Beautiful cliff hiking! Vibrant tide pools!  Tons of wild life (starfish, crabs, bald eagles, seals, and unfortunately — a garter snake — Lapster had to talk me down off the mountain!)

We have some great pics of our trip, but until then I’ll use some stock footage for you to see how gorgeous the park is. We had a wonderful weekend. With very few mishaps — the first night we were frozen in our tent, and Sunday morning when we woke up — it was raining — so everything was soaked — but even those challenges couldn’t dampen our spirits.

If you are Washington State this summer, make a weekend trip north! enjoy.