Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

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44
Hope Island Marine State Park (of Skagit County)
44

Hope Island Marine State Park (of Skagit County)

north of La Conner, Washington
visited 19 June 2021
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Hope Island State Park is a well-traveled marine state park. When I visited, there were several sailboats anchored just off the island to the north, several other kayakers, and a few people who motored right up onto the shore for a picnic on the beach.

I approached from the north, having just visited Skagit Island State Park. Here is the first clear view of Hope Island:

A view across the calm blue-green waters of Skagit Bay toward a low, forested shoreline covered in dense evergreen trees, with a few small boats anchored near the coast under a clear deep-blue sky.

I circled around the island to the east. I do not recommend following my path unless you are a strong paddler. The currents along the southeast corner of the island are very strong; I managed to get through, but it wasn’t easy.

I found a landing site on the south side of the island and enjoyed the sun for a bit before continuing my route around the island.

A rocky, pebble-strewn beach scattered with bleached driftwood logs curves along a calm blue cove, with a steep evergreen-forested bluff rising from the shoreline on the right and a wooded headland in the distance under a bright blue sky with wispy clouds.
A rugged, sunlit rocky cliff face with tan, gray, and greenish stone fractured into angular blocks, with clusters of yellow and orange wildflowers and dry golden grasses growing from crevices near the base. Weathered bleached driftwood logs and large boulders rest in the foreground beneath the rock wall.
A rugged weathered rock cliff rises above a shoreline strewn with sun-bleached driftwood logs and large boulders, with a gnarled, root-like piece of driftwood standing out at the base. Bright midday sunlight falls on the greenish-gray and tan rock face at Hope Island Marine State Park.
A small rocky islet topped with evergreen trees rises from calm blue water under a vivid blue sky with wispy clouds, with forested shorelines and distant headlands along the horizon.
A low rocky shoreline topped with golden dry grass and dark evergreen conifers, seen from the water at Hope Island Marine State Park near La Conner, Washington, under a vivid blue sky streaked with wispy clouds, with calm greenish water in the foreground and a distant forested shore on the left.

I eventually circled around to the north side of the island and found the landing site that is most commonly used. From there, I found a hiking trail that led to a nice view south over the Island.

A narrow dirt footpath winds through a lush evergreen forest lined with abundant sword ferns and tall conifer trunks, with dappled afternoon light filtering through the green canopy at Hope Island Marine State Park near La Conner, Washington.
A panoramic view from a grassy, wildflower-dotted bluff overlooking calm blue-green waters at Hope Island Marine State Park, with evergreen trees framing the scene, forested islands on the horizon, and a tall bare dead tree standing in the center beneath a sky filled with rippled clouds.
A grassy bluff dotted with evergreen trees and shrubs overlooks calm blue-gray waters, with a forested shoreline in the distance under a dramatic sky of streaky clouds.
A close-up of the fibrous, vertically ridged reddish-brown bark of a tree, likely a western red cedar, patterned with patches of pale green and whitish lichen. The textured strips of peeling bark fill the entire frame.
Reddish-brown bracket fungi with pale cream edges growing on the cut end of a mossy fallen log, surrounded by lush green sword ferns and leafy understory plants on a forest floor.
A rope swing with a wooden seat hangs from a leafy maple tree over a quiet pebble and sand beach, with driftwood logs scattered in the foreground and calm blue-grey water stretching to forested islands under a cloudy sky.
A forested, rocky point jutting into calm greenish water at Hope Island Marine State Park, with tall evergreens on the left shore and distant tree-covered hills under a bright blue sky dotted with wispy white clouds.

About the parenthesis on the title: There is another state park named Hope Island in the southern Puget Sound that I visited earlier this year.

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