Shoreline walks filled with wonders

The holidays are a good time to get acquainted with Camano Island State Park. It's on the west side of the island, which is surrounded by the waters of Skagit Bay, Port Susan Bay and Saratoga Passage and is accessed by a bridge from the mainland.

The park is within reasonable driving distance of Seattle, the trails are short and scenic and the 134-acre park is open year-round. Stop by for a short stroll or spend a day with camera and field guides. There's always something to do and, if you enjoy beachcombing, you may be surprised -- and mystified -- by what you may find cast up by the sea.

This is also an excellent time to look for wildlife and birds, and though the trails won't give you a strenuous workout, you can rack up enough mileage to work off a few of those holiday calories.

The earliest residents of the island were the Snohomish and Kikalos Indians. They came to gather berries and seafood and used the island as a summer home. The Native American name for this piece of land was "Kal-lut-chin," which translates to "land jutting into a bay." Later the island was named for Jacinto Camano, a Spanish explorer. European settlers followed, arriving in the mid-1850s, to log the land. Later parts of the island were developed for agriculture. The land on which the park sits was designated for that use in 1949 and was built in a single day by 900 local volunteers.

The park includes 6,700 feet of rocky shoreline and beach along Saratoga Passage. The contorted roots of Madrona trees hang over the edge of bluffs above the beach, and there are good views of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier and the Olympic Mountains.

One good hike in the park is the Saratoga Beach and Lowell Point route. It begins from the North Beach parking area, drops down to the beach and heads south to Lowell Point. Find the short path to the beach near the information kiosk. There also is the Loop Trail, a 1.9-mile route that follows the perimeter of the park. In addition to the main trails, there are two nature trails.

KAREN SYKES

Photogenic driftwood can be found on the beach along Saratoga Passage.

One is the Al Emerson Nature Trail, a 1/2-mile loop through old-growth forest. The trail is named for Emerson, who worked in the park for many years. There also is the Marsh Trail, also near Lowell Point, and another good spot to look for birds. Variations on the loops are possible and you will find most junctions well signed. Take a good look at the trail map on the kiosk at North Beach to familiarize yourself with the trail system.

The park also offers water activities including saltwater fishing and diving, crabbing and clamming. However, the clam season is closed to harvesting in the park through 2004 due to an unexplained die-off of clams in the area. Washington State Parks and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife closed the clam season as a temporary measure to assure recovery.

Camano Island State Park is a dandy place to soak up the rays on a summer day, but a return trip in November with Kathe Stanness proved to be much more interesting. Stanness not only is an avid hiker but also a naturalist, and when I hike with her, I often learn something new.

We started from North Beach and headed south (left) toward Lowell Point. It felt like a spring day and there even were a few yellow composites nestled against chunks of driftwood. The beach consists of cobblestones and is not conducive to a fast pace, but there is no need to hurry, especially if you are beachcombing.

As we strolled the beach, we enjoyed watching an eagle soar and gulls gather, but nothing prepared me for the marine-life exhibit on the beach. Suddenly there it was -- a blob at my feet. The blob was amber-colored, transparent and about the size of a dinner plate. Undaunted, Stanness explained that the blob was a regional jellyfish, the lion's mane (Cyanea capillata).

She explained that these jellyfish are poisonous and if you stick your hand into one, it is like sticking your hand into fire. Even when they are dead, the toxins remain and can deliver a nasty sting. Lion's mane was even woven into a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tale, "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane." Sherlock Holmes solves a murder caused by contact with a lion's mane in a tide pool.

As we hiked along the beach, we saw several more of these plate-size gelatinous rounds and found them strangely beautiful. They also are known as sea blubbers or red medusas and range from the Arctic to Mexico. These are the largest of all jellyfish species and can grow very large, especially in Arctic waters; its bell can reach 8 feet with tentacles trailing up to 100 feet long.

The largest lion's mane in Puget Sound was found on Whidbey Island and measured 5 feet. They feed on small fish, moon jellies, zooplankton and tiny crustaceans. The lion's mane goes through five life stages and a single colony of jellyfish can be traced back to a polyp that might have cloned itself hundreds of years ago.

You may not see lion's manes -- most die by October -- but you will likely see a variety of other creatures within the park, including coyotes, otters, skunks, ravens, doves, ducks, hawks, herons, owls, mussels, sea birds, seals, starfish, perhaps even whales.

From Lowell Point you can hike back to North Beach along a forested trail along the bluff or the beach, whichever you prefer. Along the bluff there are short spurs that lead to overlooks, but these are not official trails -- exercise caution as the bluffs are undercut in some areas.

If you go

• Getting there -- From Seattle take Interstate 5 north, get off at Exit 212 and head west onto state Route 532. Three miles west of Stanwood, take the left fork where the road becomes East Camano Drive. Continue about six miles to where East Camano Drive heads left. Keep to the main road -- this becomes Elger Bay Road. At a spot marked by an Exxon station, a cafe and the Elger Bay Grocery, turn right onto Mountain View, continue two miles, climb a hill, then turn left onto Lowell Point Road. The road ends at the entrance to the park. You may find it easier to simply follow the large signs to the park. A Washington State Parks fee is required.

• Trail data -- The Saratoga Beach/Lowell Point hike ranges from 1/2 mile to 4.6 miles round trip; the Loop Trail is 1.9 miles. The Al Emerson Nature Trail is a 1/2-mile loop. There is no significant elevation gain on any of these trails.

• Information -- Refer to "Hiking the San Juan Islands" by Ken Wilcox (Northwest Wild Books, 223 pages, $13.95) or visit the Washington State Parks Web site at parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=Camano%20Island.

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