Camano Island State Park, Cama Beach Historical State Park & Elger Bay Preserve — Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026

Lumping these together a bit, but last weekend (Saturday 1/10) I did a loop from Camano Island State Park to Cama Beach, Cranberry Lake, and Elger Bay Preserve and back to Camano Island State Park. I liked it so much that this weekend I brought my partner and our four-year-old for an ambitious January camping trip. 

Each of these parks is very small, and trails are rarely completely out of sight of roads and houses for long, but there are some beautiful views over the water. Camano Island State Park is on a point, so you can watch the sun rise over the Cascades from the bluffs of the South Rim, and just a short distance away, watch it set over the Olympics from the North Beach. We did the 2.6 mile loop trail within that park. We also checked out Cranberry Lake within the Cama Beach park - the most woodsy-feeling of the trails, with a marshy lake full of signs of beaver activity. 

When we planned the trip, the forecast said highs in the 50s, lows in the 40s, but it ended up getting down to the low 30s. The large, clean, heated bathrooms were a wonderful surprise - a cozy spot to wait out some of the coldest hours with the little one! Even in winter, there were quite a few campers; the crowds must be a little overwhelming in summer. 

There were many signs of recent blowdowns, yet all but one had been removed from the trail (2-3 feet thick, shortly after entering Cama Beach State Park from the Camano Island State Park side). The sign by the marsh viewpoint within Elger Bay Preserve had also been knocked down by a tree, which had already been cut away from the trail. Volunteers are busy out there!

I look forward to a future visit that's a little less chilly!