Blake Island State Park

Originally home to the Suquamish Indian tribe and legendary for being the supposed birthplace of Chief Sealth, over the years Blake Island has also served as a timber source, a private estate, Army base, and even a smuggler’s refuge. It now may be best known for Tillicum Village, a Native American cultural center that is currently closed. Access to Blake Island State Park is only possible by personal watercraft.

If you elect to wander the trails on the island, you’ll find yourself on a wide path – enough for more than two people to walk side by side – and you may see mountain bike tracks. Most of the trails here are open to mountain bikes, so be aware of possible traffic on trail.

The trail circumnavigates the island beneath madronas and salal, and two trails cut through the middle. There are flush toilets and running water from spring through fall but during the winter the port-a-potty is one half mile west of Tillicum Village, near the beachside campsites.

There is one camping area in a large grassy field near the village, and beachfront campsites are along the west shore of the island. If you are visiting here via a private boat, a daily moorage fee is required, as is a camping fee, payable at one of two payment stations on the island.

If you want to add a little mileage to your day, head up and over the hill on either the Red or Blue trail. These give you a little elevation gain, but can be muddy, and there’s not much of a view from the summit.

Historical Note: For a time in the early 1900s, Blake Island was the private estate of William Pitt Trimble. His wife Cassandra cared for it as a garden and by 1917, Trimble and his family lived on the island nearly fulltime. However, in 1929, an accident in Seattle killed Cassandra and Trimble abandoned the island. A fire during World War II destroyed the Trimble Mansion, but foundations are still visible just behind the large building that houses Tillicum Village.