After leaving Elliot Bay Marina in Seattle, we sailed to Blake Island Marine State Park. We had heard that this was one of the most popular of the marine state parks and a fantastic stop for a visit.

Our path from Elliot Bay Marina to Blake Island

We left Seattle on a Tuesday evening, planning to get to Blake Island, and hoping that we could get a spot on the often-crowded docks. We were also hoping that we would get there and have sufficient cell signal to work. Thankfully, both of those things panned out and we were able to execute on our plan and stay for a whole week.

Thanks to our Washington State Parks Mooring Pass, we only had to pay $6/night for our power at the dock and our pass paid for itself in that week in dock fees alone.

Blake Island Marine State Park Amenities

Blake Island proved to be every bit as wonderful as what we’d heard. It was truly an oasis just a few miles from downtown Seattle. We loved our week there and will definitely be visiting the island again.

Mooring Balls, Docks, and Camp Sites

Blake Island offers mooring balls around its perimeter for $15/night (or included with your mooring pass). There’s also the small marina which seems to be staffed with volunteers year-round. It was a great help to be greeted upon entering the marina area and guided into a spot big enough for us, and lines caught for docking.

Note that the public may only use the two U-shaped docks as the others are reserved for the Argosy Tour boats which visit the island daily. The docks offer power but no water and there was also a small pump out float but it was not functioning when we were there.

Additionally, the island offers nice campsites on several sides of the island.

Camp Store, Day-Use Shelters, Public Restrooms & Showers

Ashore, there are many welcoming amenities at Blake Island. Just a short walk from the docks, there is a small camp store which offers such items as firewood, roasting sticks, s’mores fixings, and ice cream sandwiches. The camp store has very limited hours but it is a very nice bonus to the park.

Also just up the dock ramp, there are nice public restrooms with toilets and coin/token operated showers and a couple shelters with picnic tables and fire pits which can be used for free (whereas the fire rings are considered part of each specific campsite and you will be charged the site fee if you set up a fire in an unoccupied site/fire ring).

Hiking Trails and Sandy Beaches

The whole island is laced with many connecting hiking trails. There are trails that travel the whole perimeter of the island (we hiked this with the kids one day) and trails that cut through the middle as well. The hikes offer beautiful views throughout and were fun entertainment for a full afternoon.

The hiking trails also take you to the west side campsites and beautiful sandy, and pebbled, beaches.

Wildlife at Blake Island

There is abundant wildlife at Blake Island Marine State Park including, most notably, some very brave and persistent raccoons which routinely search all of the boats for food scraps. Yes, you read that right- within minutes of landing at the dock, we walked ashore for just a few moments to pay for our power, and we looked back down at Mosaic and she already had a raccoon on deck searching for foods.

The raccoons are constantly present at Blake Island. You literally see one every time you leave your boat or even look outside. They climb onto every boat that’s there and will steal food and tear into garbage bags if left out. Additionally, you must be vigilant about never leaving your boat open, even small portlights, as the raccoons will go inside and cause a ruckus. They’re used to humans and very brazen. I had one follow me onto the boat and peer down the companionway even as I was inside looking for something for Kali.

Due to the raccoons alone, we’ve decided that we won’t return to Blake Island during the hot summer months as the boat would just be stifling hot with the requirements of keeping it all closed up to keep the coons out.

There are also many deer which come out in the late afternoons and evenings and are not very shy to humans. They will allow you to approach pretty close but shouldn’t be fed. We also saw several bald eagles during our stay.

Ultimately, Blake Island is definitely an island worth visiting, and stay as long as you are able. The docks definitely get very crowded, especially on the weekends, so arrive early if you want a spot at the dock. We plan to arrive mid-week the next time we come, or will plan on picking up a mooring ball if we cannot get a spot in the marina. Boats are allowed to stay up to 7 consecutive nights.

We loved our time at Blake Island and will be back. I hope you enjoyed this cruiser’s review of Blake Island Marine State Park. Do you have any questions which I might be able to answer for you? Have you been here? I would love to hear your opinion on the place. Thanks for reading!

Check out my other Cruisers Reviews here. Cheers!  ~Rachel

Sunset the first night that we were at Blake Island.

Tillicum Village at Blake Island – Cultural Center