Deception Pass

Deception Pass was named a state park on April 17, 1922. This dramatic landscape was carved out by glaciers. It was founded by Joseph Whidbey, and named by George Vancouver as he thought the now Whidbey Island was a peninsula until they came across this Pass. These men were expeditionists in 1792.

The Civilian Conservation Corps of the Public Works Administration from the Great Depression era built the bridge from 1934-1935. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places for the engineering, architecture, and the geologic and scenic marvel of Deception Pass.

If you go…

You can pay to park at the Scenic Vista Parking lot for $10 or use your Discovery Pass (which permits you into any Washington State Park). I have the National Park pass but I learned that it does not help you get into the state parks. Once here, I followed the stairs down, then turned left to follow the beach trail. It is a very steep, short trail to the beach but it gives magnificent views. There are a lot of other trails and outdoor adventures that you can do here as well.