Rosario Beach, Deception Pass State Park

Rosario Beach falls within the Fidalgo Island parcel of Deception Pass State Park. Actually a set of two beaches, one on either side of a peninsula, Rosario Beach is a great sample of all that the park has to offer. Here you'll find tide pools, wide beaches trimmed with driftwood, picnic areas set amongst old-growth trees and wildflower meadows, and a story pole carving. The carving is of Kwuh-kwal-uhl-wut, the Maiden of Deception Pass, who was a legend of the Samish, a Coast Salish Native American tribe and the first humans at Rosario beach. The other historic structures at Rosario Beach include a field classroom and rustic kitchen shelter build but the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

Keep your eyes on the ocean, too, for a glimpse of porpoises, orcas, and the occasional gray whale.

Stretch your legs on the trail around Rosario head, or take the half-mile trail from the parking lot, which leads to nearby Bowman Bay.