Our review is close to the other review. Great location, right on the ocean. Kids loved seeing the ferry come in and out. Electric and water sites is $29...other sites are $22. Nice clean restrooms and showers. No dump station on site, but there is one close by and there is no charge with a receipt from campground. The close by town has everything. Park clean and well kept. Easy to back into. Best thing about this park is the park host. Very friendly and helpful. Great spokeswomen for the state of Washington. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Park service added electric (30A) and water to a dozen or so sites. Water is turned off in winter however there is a spigot available by the restrooms. Lower # sites are closest to the ferry dock which was enjoyable to watch pull in and out. Ferry rarely blew its horn and generally doesn't run from 9pm to 7am (winter). Fort Casey is a nice walk up the trail away and has spectacular views of the Strait. Coupeville is less than 10 minutes away and has propane, gasoline, diesel and markets. First Street Grill was very good for lunch and dinner. Our family has spent every Thanksgiving camping here for over 36 years. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
The park is a good overnight spot to dry camp if you have ferry reservations for the next morning to get to Port Townsend on the Keystone-Port Townsend Ferry and don't want to get up early and race to get here. Of the 35 total spaces, one pull-through is reserved for physically challenged customers. This park is open year round. This park does not take reservations, it's first come, first serve. However, if you stay here in the winter, be sure you have a good inverter, as it could be a bit chilly! (In my opinion, this park should be renamed "Inverter Park" because of all the travel trailers and RV's here that were using Honda inverters!) Dry camping only, there are no hookups or sewer dumps. The restrooms/showers were, about what you would expect for a State Park (ie: not perfect, but passable). Showers were 50 cents for three minutes. There are water faucets located about every third camping spot, but your hoses won't fit because these water faucets are meant for filling up buckets. There is a "winter water supply" that can accommodate hoses near the pay station. The "pull-through" spaces are on the outer edge of the loop. The "back-in" spaces are in the center of the loop, except for five "back-ins" located at the top of the outer edge of the loop. These five spaces offer the best location for ferry watching, with spectacular views of Puget Sound. The "pull-through" spaces are shaped in a half-circle. Some of the "half-circles" are a narrow arc, and some are a wider arc. The pull-throughs on one side of the park give you a "ring-side seat" to the ferry dock; you can sit outside and watch the ferries come and go. The pull-throughs on the other side of the loop are against a bluff full of trees and vegetation, not as good of a view. The back-in sites on the inside of the loop may or may not have a good view of the ferry dock. Each camping space has a good-size, sturdy picnic table and fire ring. However, you are not allowed to use the driftwood for the fires, heavy fines if you are caught. If you need firewood, you are supposed to leave a note and $5 in the pay box and maybe someone will bring some wood to you. Each site has plenty of room for tents. There is a short, uphill, hiking trail that takes you to the old Fort Casey firing batteries. Older children can have fun exploring and climbing the batteries, while adults and younger children can picnic on the grass. For the lighthouse lovers, there is a beautiful lighthouse that you can tour during afternoon hours in summer, and weekends in winter. As of this writing, there was a temporary food vendor within walking distance in a trailer near the ferry dock selling hot dogs, corn dogs, and Filipino lumpias. However, a sign on an empty building near this temporary vendor indicated that there will be a new restaurant soon. UPDATE: As of late June 2008, the Keystone Cafe is now open. It's located within a short, brisk walk from the park, and has a good view of the ferry dock. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a beautiful heavily wooded state park. There are beautiful ocean & sunset views along the bluff trail that starts at the campground. While the views are beautiful very little of beach is accessible due to the high bluffs. Some but not all sites are suitable for big rigs due to a lot of very large trees. The bathrooms and showers were clean. The office was seldom open but staff were seen frequently checking and maintaining the campground. If you have to self check in be sure to check the board at the check in station for available campsites. The showers take tokens that can be purchased from a vending machine at the check in station. All the campsites had a picnic table and fire ring and the campground host kept the sites clean. We enjoyed our time at this park and would stay again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This was a great camping location. It is a State Park with electric and water hookups. My rating reflects the fact that there is not a dump station. The sites are layed out well, not too close together, with good privacy. There are plenty of trees that provide lots of shade. We really enjoyed staying there. I also knocked down the rating for the showers -- you had to use tokens to (rather than quarters), and the tokens were only available down the hill at the Ranger information station (not a huge deal, but a bit of a pain). Our kids loved exploring the park, the beach, and the rest of the island. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Fort Ebey was a WW2 coastal defense gun emplacement that was stripped and given to the State of Washington. It is mid-sized with a great location. Overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the western edge of Whidbey Island, the sunsets are spectacular, with the Olympic Mountains to the southwest and Canada visible to the North. As said before, this is a good family park, with numerous bike and foot paths traversing the bluff and surrounding woods. It does get very windy when there is an onshore flow, and it is a great place to go para-gliding or fly a kite. The sites are well laid out, marginally level and spaced far enough apart to give good privacy. The campground is about 1/4 mile away from the gate, and one heckuva' uphill bike ride, so hopefully you are in descent shape. It is also far enough away from urban lights to break out the telescopes for star gazing. As always, use the State Parks website to check each site and utilities (all trailer sites have water & 30-amp). Do not be surprised if you get buzzed by an E/F-18 Growler or P-3C Orion out of nearby Ault Field. If you need last minute supplies, Oak Harbor is a few miles up the road. Cell coverage was good with 3 bars on my Verizon Blackberry and Sprint Evo (no 4G) and my wifes T-Mobile cell had 1 bar. Over the air HDTV reception was good, with over 14 main and auxillary channels available, but strength was in the bottom 1/3rd of the meter. A prior review said the park was 'Big Rig' friendly. I doubt that is accurate, since my 35ft Motorhome was a tight fit between trees in one section, so be aware. We didn't use the facilities at the park. My wife really loves going here, and we will most certainly return next summer. We camped here in a Motorhome.
If you do not mind dry camping and love the outdoors this is the place for you. The sites are large and well spaced out. Several are "Big" rig friendly, but not all. Plan ahead, and reserve, if you need a big site. The park is beautiful and great for hiking and mountain biking. The location is excellent for touring the island too. Keep in mind that there is no dump site in the park. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This is a beautiful campground with lots of mature trees and shrubbery around the campsites. The park staff is friendly and available. There are lots of hiking trails and nearby Coupeville is fun to walk around and browse the shops in. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
It is a medium sized State Park situated in an historic and highly scenic location. It is on a high bluff overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the western edge of Whidbey Island. This is a good family park, with numerous bike and foot paths traversing the bluff and surrounding woods. The sites are well laid out and fairly private. Out of a total of 50 sites, only 10 have electricity and power. Some can accommodate larger rigs, where others can not. Over all, we found this park to be pleasant and quite enjoyable. A return trip is highly likely. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.