Washington's Car-Free State Park Is An Island Escape Off The Coast Of Seattle With Forest Camping And Trails

Washington State's rugged coastline is almost as iconic a representation of the state as the Cascade Range. Olympic National Park is fairly well-known for its ethereal beaches and coastal rainforests. However, Washington also has numerous islands scattered throughout the Puget Sound and the Salish Sea that replicate Olympic National Park's dream-like coastal atmosphere without cumbersome crowds or traffic bottlenecks. One perfect example is Washington's Blake Island Marine State Park. Blake Island is a small, relatively undeveloped island in the Puget Sound, just north of the much larger Vashon Island and across the water from Waterfront Park, Seattle's answer to New York's High Line. Though the Seattle skyline is visible from the park's shores, the trip from Seattle is a bit more complicated than a short car ride — and that's the point.

With no bridges connecting it to the mainland, Blake Island State Park is free of roads or vehicle traffic, leaving the island's forest ecosystem largely undisturbed. This is especially true now, after Seattle's Argosy Cruises discontinued its excursions to the island. Today, the only way to get to the island is via your own private boat, kayak, or charter service. While this is undoubtedly a letdown for anyone who wants to explore Blake Island, the limited transportation options do have the silver lining of preserving the park's essential pristine characteristics from even the most modest of crowds. With beautiful trails and campgrounds, and no cars or road traffic to corrupt the atmosphere, Blake Island Marine State Park offers top-tier hiking and camping getaways that will make you feel worlds away from Seattle, no matter how clear the skyline is from across the water.

Blake Island Marine State Park covers about 475 acres of land, surrounded by about 5 miles of Puget Sound shoreline. On clear days, one can see the Seattle skyline, the Olympic Mountains, and even the majestic Mount Rainier. For generations, Blake Island was a camping refuge for the native Squamish people of the Pacific Northwest. According to legend, the island was even the birthplace of Chief Seattle (Si'ahl), the Duwamish and Suquamish leader for whom the city is named.

In previous years, park visitors could experience live cultural demonstrations, storytelling, and native cuisine at the park's Tillicum Village, a recreation of a Native American village and longhouse. Sadly, Tillicum Village closed in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic, with no immediate plans to reopen as of 2026. Still, Blake Island's Native American heritage is visible on the island in the form of totem poles and wood carvings that still adorn some of the trails.

State park status protects the island's rich coastal forest ecosystem from the development that has afflicted much of Washington's mainland. The island's forests include high canopies of evergreen trees that mirror the famed forests of the Pacific Northwest on the mainland, with quietly colorful accents of orange and red berries. Despite its small size, Blake Island has distinctive "microclimates" that can create sudden fog conditions that add another layer of mysterious beauty across the park. Blake Island's animal residents include the extremely rare marbled murrelet seabird, plus more famous (though no less exciting) avian residents like bald eagles. The park's coastlines are also rich in marine life like harbor seals, providing a scenic analog of famous coastal hikes like the serene and wildlife-rich Rialto Beach.

With its pristine island character, Blake Island Marine State Park offers visitors arresting (and rarely crowded) trails on both land and water. The park's marine trails include scenery-rich overnight paddling routes across the Puget Sound from Seattle, a route that provides paddlers with views of everything from the Cascades to the Seattle skyline in full. An even more daring paddling route is Washington's expansive Cascadia Marine Trail, which links Blake Island Marine State Park with dozens of other islands and parks across the Puget Sound in one epic paddling adventure. From Blake Island, paddlers on the Cascadia Marine Trail can visit the breathtaking Blind Island Marine State Park for paddle-only camping.

Blake Island's land trails are just as stunning. The park's trails include specific cross-sections of the park, historic interpretive trails, and a full perimeter route circumnavigating the entire island. The 4-mile Perimeter Road Loop trail circles around the island's shoreline, with plenty of views of the shimmering expanse of the Puget Sound. Beyond the shoreline, Blake Island's 5-mile Red and Blue Loop cuts through the verdant Pacific Northwest forests within the island's interior. Most trails are open to both hiking and mountain biking, with ample opportunities to see wildlife like deer, otters, ospreys, and eagles.

Blake Island Marine State Park's location along the Cascadia Marine Trail also means overnight camping options for paddlers and other guests. Though the island has three sites specifically designated for Cascadia Marine Trail paddlers, there are also 44 standard campsites available for all visitors. Campers also have access to day-use amenities like barbecue braziers, picnic tables, and group shelters. However, the island's unspoiled forests and coastline will always be close at hand!