Sea Eagle anchored in the distance behind Eaglet, the dingy at Hope Island.
Hope Island State Park is a well-hidden, nearly unknown, jewel deep into southern Puget Sound. Named after one of the sailors of the Wilkes Expedition in 1841, it is only accessible by boat and is covered with lush, old growth forests that are easily accessible via a 1.5 mile loop trail. It is one of the most beautiful and truly peaceful spots for dropping the anchor and in my opinion is better than Sucia Iasland in the San Juans.
There are two state maintained mooring buoys along the Southeast side of the island and three more along the West side. Sea Eagle is (of course) much too big for the buoys, so we just drop the hook in the small current lee created on the South side of the island and enjoy the amazing beauty of the island.
An old stump that reminded me of the Loch Ness Monster
There is an old homestead on the island, complete with cabin, wind-mill driven water pump, and old orchid, friendly deer and lots of old farming implements, still rusting away in the fields where they were abandoned. Get to the island before noon and you are likely to have the entire place to yourselves. There are a few campsites and it’s quite common to see large groups of kayaks in the afternoon, but few stay long since open fires are banned on the island to protect the old growth forests.
Old farm equipment left out in the fields of Hope Island.
Pileated Woodpecker on Hope Island