All About Camano Island, WA
- by Jodie Vinson
Camano Island lies between Whidbey Island and the mainland and is surrounded by the stretching waters of the Saratoga Passage, Skagit Bay, and Port Susan. Visitors can avoid the long waits at ferries as it is connected to Stanwood on the mainland by the Mark C. Clark Memorial Bridge.
Though now hosting a population of 13,347 the 18 mile long island was once the summer dwelling of the Kikalos and Snohomish Indians who gathered food and berries for the winter months along its shores. These tribes called the island Kol-lut-chen, which meant, Land jutting into a bay. Explorer Charles Wilkes claimed it as Macdonough Island, but in 1847 the land was christened once more. British navy Captain Kellet sought to restore Spanish names to the Northwest, and called first called the island by its present day name for Jacinto Camano of the Spanish navy. Obstinate loggers still persisted in referring to the island with a nickname, Crow Island. The douglas firs they felled went through the famous saw mill at Utsalady Point and into its shipyard. When their work had cleared much of the island, farmers began to work it for its agricultural resources.
Though now exclusively known as Camano, the island still retains some of the elusiveness of the unnamed. Its quiet shores and protected remain virtually unknown in contrast to other more tourist ridden destinations. Its rolling hills and stretching beaches await discovery by the visitor seeking a quiet escape into the Northwest landscape.
Community Links:
Camano Island Chamber of Commerce
Whidbey-Camano Islands (Island County Tourism)
Stanwood-Camano Island News Community Newspaper
Camano Island Arts Association
Old Camano.net
Stanwood Camano Music Events
