Fort Casey State Park – Coupeville, WA

Fort Casey State APark is located at the Keystone Ferry Dock on Whidbey Island, south of Coupeville, Washington; and is open year round. This park does not take reservations, it’s first come, first serve.

Of the 35 total spaces, one pull-through is reserved for physically challenged customers. The park is a good overnight spot to dry camp if you have ferry reservations for the next morning to get to Port Townsend on the Keystone-Port Townsend Ferry and don’t want to get up early and race to get there. However, if you stay here in the winter, be sure you have a good inverter, as it could be a bit chilly! (In my opinion, this park should be renamed “Inverter Park” because of all the travel trailers and RV’s here that were using Honda inverters!)

Dry camping only, there are no hookups or sewer dumps. The restrooms/showers were… about what you would expect for a State Park, i.e., not perfect, but passable. The showers were 50 cents for three minutes. There are water faucets located about every third camping spot, but your hoses won’t fit because these water faucets are meant for filling up buckets. There is a “winter water supply” that can accommodate hoses near the pay station.

The “pull-through” spaces are on the outer edge of the loop. The “back-in” spaces are in the center of the loop, except for five “back-ins” located at the top of the outer edge of the loop. These five spaces offer the best location for ferry watching, with spectacular views of Puget Sound. The “pull-through” spaces are shaped in a half-circle. Some of the “half-circles” are a narrow arc, and some are a wider arc. The pull-throughs on one side of the park give you a “ring-side seat” to the ferry dock; you can sit outside and watch the ferries come and go. The pull-throughs on the other side of the loop are against a bluff full of trees and vegetation, not as good of a view. The “back-ins” on the inside of the loop may or may not have a good view of the ferry dock.

Each camping space has a good-size sturdy picnic table and fire ring. However, you are not allowed to use the driftwood for the fires, heavy fines if you are caught. If you need firewood, you are supposed to leave a note and in the pay box and maybe someone will bring some wood to you.

Each site has plenty of room for tents. There is a short, uphill, hiking trail that takes you to the old Fort Casey firing batteries. Older children can have fun exploring and climbing the batteries, while adults and younger children can picnic on the grass. For the lighthouse lovers, there is a beautiful lighthouse that you can tour during afternoon hours in summer, and weekends in winter. As of this writing, there was a temporary food vendor within walking distance in a trailer near the ferry dock selling hot dogs, corn dogs, and Filipino lumpias. However, a sign on an empty building near this temporary vendor indicated that there will be a new restaurant soon.