Deception Pass & Whidbey Island Day Trip

Rain, wind, and more rain is the best way to describe late Fall and Winter days in the Pacific Northwest. Our day trip to Deception Pass and Whidbey Island was a typical Pacific Northwest winter day.

We left the house early Sunday morning and headed north for the one hour and a half drive to Deception Pass State Park. If you haven’t been to Deception Pass, you need to put this on your list. Deception Pass is simply breathtaking and has amazing Pacific Northwest views. You don’t even have to hike for the views. We drove across the bridge and parked in the first parking lot after entering onto Whidbey Island. We took the short .3 mile trail down to North Beach. It was a fairly easy hike but all downhill. Once we got down the beach, we noticed there was parking lot. Later we learned this road was currently closed but it’s good to know for the future you can drive to the beach area.

After our short hike to North Beach, we headed back up the hill to the car. At this point, it was pouring. We got back into the car and starting driving towards Coupevillle. The main entrance to Deception Pass State Park was just a little further down the road. We did a quick drive-thru and decided West Beach would be another stop for us in the future.

Next up was lunch. We stopped to eat at Christopher’s in Coupeville and it was delicious. Ryan couldn’t get enough of the Penn Cove mussels. The prices were reasonable and the chocolate mousse dessert was more than a healthy serving — enough for four to share. Coupeville is an adorable little town. If it had not been pouring rain, we would have explored more.

Our last stop was Fort Casey State park. We spotted deer on the way in and Logan was officially on a deer hunt the rest of the day. It was soooo windy and cold when we got out to explore but at least the rain stopped for a bit. We walked around and up to the lighthouse. The views were amazing and I can only imagine how breathtaking the Olympic mountains would be on a sunny day. Logan enjoyed jumping in each and every mud puddle he could. When he decided to sit in the freezing cold puddle, it was time to pack up.

We changed Logan out of his wet clothes and were off to catch the ferry in Clinton. We stopped at Timbuktu Java Bar & Cafe for some hot drinks to warm up before our ferry adventure. The short ferry ride back was pure excitement for Logan. From Mulkiteo, it was only a thirty minute drive back to our house.  Our day trip was quick but gave us a good overview of Whidbey Island. We will be back for sure!