BREAKING NEWS!!! STRAWBERRY ISLAND CLOSED BY DNR
I just learned that Strawberry Island near Cypress Island has been closed to the public. If you are not familiar this is a great island and a great camping spot for kayakers. The report was that it was closed to save money. Yet DNR used a helicopter to remove the picnic tables. How much did that cost?
Update from Washington Water Trails
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) decided to permanently close the campground facilities at Strawberry Island, a Cascadia Marine Trail Site, effective Thursday June 18, 2009. All facilities have been removed, including picnic tables, signs and fire rings and the toilet. Day use is still permitted, but the site is strictly pack in/pack out – including human waste. If you have plans in the area, consider visiting either Pelican Beach or Cypress Head on Cypress Island. Please note that Cypress Island campsites are heavily used in the summer months and campsites fill quickly on weekends.
The DNR states budget cuts required the agency to reduce staff and services to recreation facilities. At this point in time, there are no other proposed closures for DNR Cascadia Marine Trail Sites.
June 19, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Bad, bad, bad news. One of the greatest places to spend the night; the cost of cleaning up after renegade campers will actually be greater than whatever they’ve had budgeted. No hearing? No warning?
June 20, 2009 at 8:29 am
That’s very sad. I spent my first night ever camping out of a kayak there. I crossed over in a thick fog from Anacortes and thought I might not be able to find the island. I was just able to see the tops of the trees and made it just before sundown. Woke up the next morning to a huge pod of Orcas swimming down Rosario Strait. They came right up to the island. I like Strawberry because it has a great view down the strait and it so close but still feels remote. It’s also small so the cruising crowd stays away.
June 20, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Strawberry Island was also my first kayak camping trip. It is a cool place that puts you right in the middle of the actions with the shipping traffic and the currents so close. Funny you talk about Orcas because on my first trip we too saw Orcas. I just stopped there for a break a couple of weekends ago while paddling around Cypress. It appeared that they had just put new picnic tables there. Typical government waste. They’re concerned about saving money, but probably spent more to close it than it would have cost for a year to maintain it.