Blake Island State Park

Blake Island is a favorite overnight paddle from Seattle. Leave from Alki Point and cross the shipping channel or put in at Vashon or Southworth. The view of the city against the Cascades during the day, or the distant Seattle lights at night, makes this a great stopover. If you plan ahead, you can drop by Tillicum Village for a show and salmon dinner.

Read more about Blake Island, thanks to Karen Borell: Blake Island State Park

Approach: Easy gravel and sand.
Location: The island is located in Puget Sound, 3.5 miles SW of Seattle Alki Point Lighthouse, 2 miles S of Bainbridge Island. The site is just E of the NW tip of the island.
Hazards: Be aware of shipping lanes east of Blake Island and ferries going to Vashon Island, Southworth, and Bremerton via Rich Passage
Sites: 3
Water: Available from nearby spigots in summer: bring your own in winter.
Sanitation: Flush toilets in main campground and west end campground. Pay showers in main campground.
Overflow: See ranger at main park area, 1 mi. away by trail (there are 48 campsites at other locations.)
Fires: There are no fires allowed in the Cascadia Marine Trail sites for ecological reasons. Follow state park rules; do not collect firewood.
Extras: Picnic table.
Fees: $12/night for up to 8 in site
Special Considerations: Keep food secure from wildlife at all times. Dune grass restoration is in progress, please stick to trails and store boats at campsite. Sites are primitive campsites, and they do not have all the amenities as a standard campsite. Not having fire pits encourages minimum impact camping and adds space for additional campers without increasing the footprint into the dunes where we frequently have nesting birds. Fire pits at the West CG for those who wish to have a fire.
Natural History: Blake Island was an ancestral camping ground of the Suquamish Indian tribe, and legend has it Chief Sealth was born here. The island was named by Cpt. Charles Wilkes in honor of George Smith Blake, who commanded U.S. Coast Survey vessels from 1837-48. The island was briefly called Trimble Island after a man who built a mansion there in the early 1900s. The foundation of his mansion still stands.
Max People:
Max Nights:
Reservations: No
Latitude: 47.5444166666667
Longitude: -122.5046
Print

4 thoughts on “Blake Island State Park

  1. Two campsites are now reservable in the west campground.
    Water was shut off due to broken pipes 8/19. Vault toilet. Water in main campground.

  2. From Susan:
    The 3 CMT spots were taken by a large group of kids from Vashon Island Parks & Rec. This group also overflowed into the regular camping areas on that side of the island. I camped as far away as I could get on the far south end of the public sites!
    Raccoons are a problem here! Fortunately they provide steel food boxes at each camp.
    Nothing else to add re Blake other than it’s a wonderful island and I hope to return when the CMT sites are available.

  3. Trip Report 7/14/23 – 7/16/23

    Left Alki Point Lighthouse on our paddleboards at 9am after confirming on the Marine Tracker app that no container ships were on their way through. Good visibility north and south so it was easy to spot boats coming. A tug pushing a barge came through at one point but we saw it from far off and it was easy to avoid. Morning winds were calm and it was slack current, which made for easy paddling to the island. The five mile trip (including avoiding a parked container ship just north of the island) took just over two hours.

    The marine trail campsites are on the point and get sun all day. We opted for the more expensive but much shadier west campground sites which are just a few minutes walk away. Flush toilets were clean and well maintained, and the water spigot was functioning. The campsites were mostly empty Friday night but about 3/4 full Saturday night. Though the sites are fairly close together they didn’t feel crowded, and people were respectful and were relatively quiet after dark. Raccoons have the run of the campsite at night so be sure to use the provided lock boxes (these are at the marine trail campsites as well). It was fun in the morning to watch the raccoons foraging for seafood in the shallows. We also saw deer, bald eagles, and seals near the campsites.

    Tillicum Village restaurant is still closed, but the ranger station on the east side of the island (~1 mile from west campsites) offers snacks and soft drinks.

    The paddle back to Seattle was likewise calm, recommend taking off early to avoid the afternoon winds.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *