Great park with beautiful scenery and different routes to choose from. It was quite peaceful other than the sound of cars driving by when you're parallel to the road. The sound of the creek made up for it and was a nice surprise. The paths were enclosed with trees in some areas and open in others. One side you get views of the ocean and the other side is solely Forrest views. Both are beautiful and a sight to see. read more

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We stopped by recently while roaming the island. We made a loop by taking the Ridge Loop trail to Fern Gulley, around to check out the ancient cedar, into the old campground and back to the parking lot via the Forest Discovery trail. The trails were narrow and a bit muddy, but in good condition overall. The ridge section was okay, but we really enjoyed the scenery as we dropped into Fern Gulley...every shade of green, very pretty. The ancient cedar was a beautiful sight. Great views of the mountains and water from the short Discovery trail. And I always enjoy wandering through campgrounds being reclaimed by Mother Nature. A fun stop-off as we headed up to Deception Pass. Maybe not epic, but certainly an enjoyable trail system. read more

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Stopped here during our visit of Whidbey Island. Have to pay or have a discovery pass to visit park so heads up there. There is a restroom and spacious parking lot. Secluded park, very peaceful. read more

South Whidbey State Park - Park signage - Parks Near Me - Freeland, Washington

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This park is dramatically scaled down from what it once was - the stairs to the beach are closed, the campsite is closed. But that's also an advantage - less people, more peacefulness to meander around, and you get to pretend you're in a post-apocalyptic grown-over back-to-the-land zone if you go through the campsite. Worth an hour or two to stroll around or have a picnic. read more

South Whidbey State Park - Water view. - Parks Near Me - Freeland, Washington

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I hiked the Wilbert trail and the south forest discovery trail loop yesterday~I visited the 500-year-old cedar. The trail was a bit muddy in some places, but otherwise an easy and beautiful hike. The beach trail is closed until further notice. The park contains western red cedar, Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and western hemlock, some of the largest on Whidbey Island. See here for a map to print before you go--https://www.islandcountywa.gov/PublicWorks/Parks/Documents/SWSP.pdf South Forest Discovery Trail Loop is off of the parking area, as you enter the park. It's not always obvious it's a trailhead, so look for the bathroom on the right in the big meadow by the parking area, then look straight ahead to the woods and you will see the sign for the trail. Go straight ahead to do the Southern Loop. The maps are a bit confusing, and the "northern loop" isn't marked. You will pass a sign by a trail that hooks to the right not long after that says "Picnic Area". That is the northern loop. Take it on the way back for a bonus hike read more

South Whidbey State Park - Parks Near Me - Freeland, Washington

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I love camping, and for a while now had been thinking about going by myself. I much prefer company, but everyone is so busy it can be hard to find a time that works. I had a two meetings on Whidbey Island, one on a Thursday afternoon, and one the following morning. Rather than drive all the way back to Seattle and take numerous ferries, I decided to give this campground a go. The online reservation service was easy enough...but in retrospect I would have just paid at the park and saved myself $7. When I got to the park there was the list posted of reservations...and it was just me. Other than the camp stewards (whom I never saw) the place was completely empty. I couldn't decide if it was creepy, or really quite nice. Decidedly odd, either way though. But it was rather peaceful. I saw many many slugs, a fairly aggressive squirrel, immensely shy cute little bunnies, and heard more than saw a TON of birds. The birds woke me up at 5am with their pre-dawn cacophony, but mellowed out once the light arrived. Sadly, the path to the beach was closed do to weather damage. I had really been looking forward to some peaceful beach-combing and meditative wave staring, and maybe a nice sunset, so this was quite a disappointment. I recommend checking the website before you go here to make sure you can get to the beach. Without it, this is a fairly unremarkable, though well maintained campground. read more

South Whidbey State Park - Parks Near Me - Freeland, Washington

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A great place for some lovely but modest hiking trails, and an especially great place to see old-growth trees. But some nice folks on the trail gave us a useful tip: If you really want to see giant cedars, the "Giant Cedar" trail is actually pretty disappointing, since it contains only a single giant cedar now forlornly caged behind a fence. Instead, take the long part of the Wilbert trail to the Fern Gully trail to the Ridge Loop trail, where you'll get to see substantial handfuls of giant cedars still thick in the woods. And then you can also appreciate the massive change when the Ridge Loop trail converts to a recently-logged new-growth forest full of reedy alders. read more

For our five month anniversary my boyfriend and I came to Whidbey Island for the day. We were in Langely at first, and were going to walk along but the beach but the tide came sooner than we expected (blame the wine tasting). We came to the State Park, and had a great time! We went down the beach and walked along the water, trying to find whole seashells (found one, and my boyfriend broke it in his car door by mistake). The water was absolutely gorgeous, and the sand felt great in the warm weather. It was really nice to just relax and listen to the water. Very nice find on our day trip! WARNING: The hike back up the car is no joke. My boyfriend handled it better than me, but with the heat and my long jeans I wasn't having the easiest time. Be prepared for the hike. And thank god I don't smoke. read more

South Whidbey State Park - Parks Near Me - Freeland, Washington

Pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. Loved sleeping under the tall trees with the sound of waves crashing 200 ft below. We were in campspot 12 and 13, where there was actually a fence put up so no one would fall down the ravine and into the ocean. I booked online and had to reserve the two spots together for Saturday night. Strangely they don't accept reservations less than 24 hrs in advance so we had to hope no one was in the spot Friday. The office and goodies shop were only open between 6-8PM which was a little inconvenient. They were also out of firewood but we got some easily in a nearby town. Little squirrels became our buddies, running across our laps as we ate and eating from our hand. Beware of leaving food bits like jiffy pop out at night, the squirrels will be sure to battle it out and shriek until they push others out of the way. The beach was something else at night. Tide was seriously high, cruiseships were sailing by and my friends decided on a dip. The water around them glowed due to phosphorescense, something I'd only ever seen in Australia...amazing. read more

We stumbled upon South Whidbey State Park on a rainy weekend in late October. Due to the blustery weather, we had the park to ourselves - by that time, the large campground is shut down for the off-season. It turned out to be a perfect park for us to do some fun, easy hiking. The hiking trail to the beach is a moderately steep 1/2 mile down to the beach. At high tide, there wasn't much beach to explore, but I'm sure it would have been great if we'd timed it better! There is just a little outhouse a bit up from the beach, so you don't have trek back uphill 1/2 mile for restrooms if you've got the kids down at the beach, but it looked pretty rustic. From the beach, a break in the clouds allowed for gorgeous sweeping views of Kitsap/Port Townsend/Olympic mountains! There was also a short nature loop near the campground, but we didn't explore that one. The longer trails are on the east side of the main road that goes past the park. We enjoyed a great ~3 mile loop through beautiful, lush forest. Many huge, old-growth firs and cedars. Nicely maintained trail, not too muddy despite all the rain, and dog-friendly (leash required, or risk a $100+ fee). We didn't run into a soul on our hike, though we did see a handful of vehicles at the trail head. The walk ended near an incredible old-growth cedar tree that was really impressive- at over 500 years, it easily predates the US! We were happy to find such a nice little hike, just 15 minutes or so north of the ferry landing... a peaceful place to spend a couple hours before you head back to the city. Yet another great State Park - please pay the modest park fee, which helps keep these great places open for everyone! =) read more

Terribly small and confusing trails. The woods/forest area is small. In the middle of it there is a corn maze sort of area with no trees. Path is along heavy traffic road, takes the "away" feel from the park. The trails were poorly designed. Not able to connect to waterfront through trails. The waterfront was not small, but tiny. Sand was like quicksand/mud. There are a bunch of houses on the shoreline, it feels like your intruding on private property. The seaweed is atrocious. The smell from the seaweed is intolerable. I was here for 2 hours, saw everything i needed to and went down to deceptions pass. Avoid this place like the plague. read more

Not for large groups. We decided to take to our annual family reunion to South Whidbey State Park's group site which accommodates up to 60 people. The site was incredible! It accommodated our family of around 40+/- and had plenty of areas for the kids to play, adults to cook, several areas to congregate for family activities, and plenty of parking down the private drive. It was also a short walk to the beautiful beach, hiking trails, and showers. Fantastic! There is one very big complaint I have to share about the group site however. The site is not secluded enough to accommodate larger congregations as advertised. We were visited several times over the weekend by 2 separate park rangers about the noise level coming from our site, specifically "bursts of laughter". I can tell you we were not a rowdy bunch...just a family catching up and telling stories around the campfire as a normal camping experience should be. Unfortunately I have to say our reunion was ruined by the ranger's borderline harassment of our group with threats to cite us and lengthy lectures on proper conduct. Ultimately, they told us to put out our fire and go to sleep at 10:30pm as to allow other campers to sleep. I would recommend this State Park as it is a great location and offers many opportunities to enjoy nature. I would, however, not recommend booking the group site for larger functions. read more

Hidden gem of gorgeous forest tucked between the coast and the highway on South Whidbey. Some beautiful, big trees, great changes ecosystems (wetlands down low, dry ridges up higher) with slight changes in elevation. Just after you enter the park from the north, look for pedestrian crossing signs and pull off. Hike in (opposite the water side) at the trail and within 100 yards you'll hit the Ancient Cedar. It is behind a fence to keep people from climbing on its roots and in its hollow trunk (this is done for big sequoias in Yosemite, too). Keep walking and see lots of other big cedars, hemlocks, Douglas firs, and spruces. We heard lots of tittering squirrels, talking crows, and even bald eagles in the distance. Saw a bunch of 6" green slugs, and found lots of dragon eggs. Have fun! read more

I am very sad to have to give this beautiful park a 3 star review, but what was supposed to be a tranquil overnight retreat was ruined by an aggressive and inappropriate host. I had stayed here two weeks earlier for a two night retreat from the city for me and my dog. I liked it so much I returned with my friend when she told me she had never camped before. We enjoyed a nice mellow night and kept to ourselves and our campsite. The next morning the camp host Torn yelled at me from the road to put my dog on a leash. I apologized and complied, about an hour later we were rushing to get the last things in the car, as check out time was close. Torn was standing at the street watching us and I let go of Pelo's leash as I was gathering up my things. Torn started yelling about calling the ranger and a fine. He also told me that he was trying to help me and save my dog's life by making sure he was always on a leash. I must add that my dog was always within five feet of me during these interactions and had not been running around the campground or otherwise causing a ruckus during our stay. As I tried to leave the campsite Torn started yelling at me that the road was one way. I told him that I was unaware of this and as I tried to correct the position of my car so I could leave I asked him to move back from my car and he refused!!! I told him that his being so close to the vacinity of my car was making me nervous, but he still refused to move! In the end I just had to back around him in a very tight space! I have never stayed at a campsite where the hosts have been anything other than friendly and kind. This was a really weird experience. I would recommend staying in the lower portion of the campground where the host is normal. It's a little more crowded there, but at least you won't have to worry about an aggravated interaction ruining your stay. read more

A nice park, clean showers, nice sites. And don't miss the hiking trail across the street.

You cannot get better camping than this. Having lived on the island as a kid, and also having camped as we visited each time over the years, I must recommend South Whidbey State Park. With great hiking trails, some of which lead to the beach, there is a little something for everyone in your group. read more

A beautiful spot with a variety of trails. It seems very geared towards campers with facilities for that. We went on a trail just across the main road to see the Ancient Cedar. Lovely! read more

A fairly decent campground that is well maintained and central to much of what Whidbey I. has to offer. The sites are deep in the trees which keeps them cool. Some of the vehicle sites are a short path from where you park your car so you might find yourself lugging stuff a few steps, but no more than that. Decent privacy. Plenty of camp critters from squirrels to shrews to deer. The path to the beach is about 7 minutes downhill and 12 minutes back. The beach is narrow at high tide and generally featureless, barring the occasional fallen tree. Otherwise flat and pebbly, excellent for viewing sunsets. Not much to do at this campground other than a couple of trails, but many other state parks are within a short drive. Useful bit of info: your park pass is good for all of the state parks during the length of your stay. read more

Pure and simple....the park is closed. You can drive in part way and walk around a little, but there is little maintenance, trail to the beach is closed, campground is closed and the dump station is closed. The trees have a disease that has caused safety concerns, but they won't cut the diseased trees down in effort to stem the problem. It is a shame that the state is letting this park fall apart and that it's not able to be utilized to its fullest potential. read more

This is a terrific park with beautiful hiking trails. We were visiting from the SF Bay area and looking for some nice hikes to do with three kids, this was a tip from our hotel and worth it. It was a fun ferry ride to Whidbey and a short drive to this park. We did a hike down to the beach, it was a short hike, had some climbs but not too bad. Beach has beautiful views. read more