The Whidbey Island Scenic Isle Way

Spectacular views of Deception Pass Bridge can be seen either from land, of from water. Russell Sparkman

One day it happens. You’re in the car you take to work on the road you take to work and somewhere you turn. You’re off course. You’re doing it!

You’ve planned for this, but still it seems strange, because you drove right out of your rut and straight into…a road trip.

So where to?

Whidbey Scenic Isle Way was the first set of island highways in Washington designated as a scenic byway. Drive it and you’ll get a camera full of postcard moments. Stop a few times and you’ll get a weekend or even a week worth of memories.

Many who live on the island know the moment. Maybe it’s on the ferry, maybe it’s as they drive into Clinton, maybe it’s crossing Deception Pass where even as residents they feel they’ve escaped America and are back to their someplace special.

While Whidbey Scenic Isle Way begins and ends with two of Washington’s Icons. To the north, the rugged beauty of Deception Pass brings you into the City of Oak Harbor. If you begin to the south, the state ferry brings you into Clinton, the “Gateway to Whidbey Island.”

But that’s only part of what earned State Routes 525 and 20 their special designation. To really see why this was designated a scenic highway, you’ll have to pay attention, slow down, make a few turns, stop, and get out and walk.

Many of the artists who live on the island take much of their inspiration from the beauty found along the “Isle Way.” See the island through their eyes and you’ll find special moments and special people.

James Moore is a former marketing executive who turned to painting. He lives in Ebey’s Reserve, a national park where people actually live. The inspiration for some of his work lies just steps from his front door.

Old is juxtaposed with the new in this view of an old farmhouse at Ebey's Landing National Historic Preserve, near Coupeville. © 2008 Russell Sparkman

On this particular morning he’s just steps from the highway pointing out something that caught his eye that drivers could see if they took the time to notice. It’s an old farm house on the reserve near Penn Cove. It’s actually several buildings constructed as the need arose. He says, “What happens from an artistic standpoint is, they’re arranged in, maybe not a haphazard way, but in an abstract way and the light falls on the roof line in different ways.”

A view of Coupeville Wharf from the porch of the Island County Museum. © 2008 Russell Sparkman

Pat Brookes is another painter who spends a lot of her time painting the unique beauty of the area. On Double Bluff beach she’s set up her easel, catching how the angles of a fort made of driftwood mimic a bluff right behind it. Of the island she notes, “You have such wonderful scenery and incredible beaches.”

Interestingly both artists mention walking as important to really seeing the island. Moore says one of the things he likes to have visitors do is walk the beaches around Camp Casey. He notes “you can walk along the bluff from there all the way down to almost to Fort Ebey” a distance of several miles. Brookes is part of a group that hikes every Monday as a way to stay in shape. She decided to spend a year concentrating on painting the island’s bluffs after seeing how beautiful they were while on the weekly walks.

First Street in Langley includes shops, galleries, boutiques and a beer pub, all of which overlook Saratoga Passage. © 2008 Russell Sparkman

You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy the area. The seaside communities of Langley and Coupeville offer recreational shopping in communities that are filled with small shops stuffed with unique finds. Restaurants range from the simple to the elegant. Your options range from a bagel at a waterside picnic table to complex multi-course meals each paired with their own wine. Choose your speed; then choose your food.

Some of the artisans open their studios on weekends. You can see everything from glass blowing to painting and photography.

Be sure to schedule a night’s stay on the island. If you usually stay one night, add a night. From one end to the other the island is filled with motels, inns, and bed and breakfasts and each are unique get-aways from the workaday world.

Oak Harbor celebrates its Dutch heritage at the annual Holland Happening Festival and even has built an authentic Dutch Windmill. (c) Alspektor

While festivals happen nearly every weekend in the summer on the island, it’s the cooler months where the island becomes really special. A stormy March night at a romantic bed and breakfast can make you feel like the city is several days away, not a couple of hours.

Trips to Whidbey Island often begin, or end, with a ferry ride between Mukilteo on the mainland and the Clinton dock on the southern end of the island (pictured). © 2008 Russell Sparkman

But, whenever you come, pencil in some time for that unplanned, “I wonder what we’ll find when we turn here,” moment. No, you won’t find a picture perfect moment with every turn you make, even when you’re traveling a scenic highway. But, you might, and maybe you should just go find out.

Isn’t that the idea of a road trip?

Large Whidbey & Camano Islands Map - 262.9KB This is the large green and white map with streets.

___________________________________________

Whidbey and Camano Islands are only 25 miles north of Seattle, and 2 hours south of Vancouver. See Directions and Maps to learn more about how to get here.