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Deception Pass State Park

1922 establishments in Washington (state)Civilian Conservation Corps in Washington (state)Parks in Island County, WashingtonParks in Skagit County, WashingtonParks on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
Protected areas established in 1922State parks of Washington (state)Use mdy dates from February 2026
Deception Pass Bridge 03
Deception Pass Bridge 03

Deception Pass State Park is a nearly 4,000-acre (1,600 ha) state park in Washington state. It is located on nine islands—principally Whidbey and Fidalgo islands—on either side of Deception Pass, the waterway connecting the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Skagit Bay. It includes numerous bays, inlets and other waterways that provide home for a variety of marine life and coastal Pacific Northwest flora, and the park's undersea natural resources are protected as part of the National System of Marine Protected Areas. The park's two sections, like its two main islands, are connected by the two spans of the Deception Pass Bridge, completed in 1934. The park's original land was a military reserve prior to its sale to the state in 1922. The park was first developed in the 1930s by crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps, who constructed a number of buildings, installations and landscape features in the National Park Service rustic style. Many of these facilities are recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Since its establishment, with its proximity to the Seattle area and its suburbs, the park has consistently ranked as the most-visited park in the Washington State Parks system, drawing 3.4 million visitors in 2023. With more than 3 million visitors annually, it rivals some of the most popular U.S. national parks in visitors.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Deception Pass State Park (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Deception Pass State Park
Deception Pass Bridge,

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Latitude Longitude
N 48.4075 ° E -122.645 °
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Deception Pass Bridge (State Route 20)

Deception Pass Bridge

Washington, United States
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Deception Pass Bridge 03
Deception Pass Bridge 03
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Anacortes Community Forest Lands
Anacortes Community Forest Lands

Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL) consists of mostly forested lands surrounding and adjoining Little Cranberry, Heart, and Whistle Lakes on Fidalgo Island, west and south of Anacortes, Washington. Its highest point is Mount Erie, the highest point on the island at 1,273 feet (388 m). Sugarloaf, 1,044 feet (318 m) and 0.6 miles (1.0 km) north of Mount Erie, is its second highest peak. As well as the aforementioned lakes, ACFL contains a number of smaller lakes, ponds and wetlands. ACFL originated in the August 2, 1919, purchase by the city of Washington Power, Light and Water Company equipment and lands for $135,000. Prior to 1989, the forest was logged for the revenue that it produced. In the late 1980s, the forest produced little or no net income and a community organization, Friends of the Forest, was formed to oppose logging. Subsequently, a survey by the Parks Department indicated that the community favored non-forestry uses of those lands, and a study showed that the forest trails were highly valued for recreational use. In 1990, the Forest Endowment Fund was started. On April 15, 1991, the City Council ended logging, except to remove downed or dangerous trees, from the permitted uses of the forest. In 1998, a Conservation Easement Program (CEP) was adopted by the city council as a means of funding ACFL and preserving the forest. Contributions to the CEP preserve the forest at a rate of $1000 per acre. The conservation easements are held and monitored by Skagit Land Trust. As of mid-2007, over $1.5 million had been contributed and 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) was preserved.The forest includes lakes, bogs and wetlands, low mountains and rocky cliffs. Most of the forest has been logged once or twice, but a notable grove of low-elevation old-growth forest remains. The upper story is dominated by Pinaceae (Pine Family) including Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir), Tsuga heterophylla (Western Hemlock), Pinus contorta (Shore Pine), and Abies grandis (Grand Fir), as well as Acer macrophyllum (Bigleaf Maple), Arbutus menziesii (Pacific Madrone), and Alnus rubra (Red Alder). Important understory species are Gaultheria shallon (Salal) and Acer circinatum (Vine Maple).