Things to Do in Coupeville, Washington

The Bluff Loop Trail runs 3.5 miles round trip along the beach and bluff, with a few steep sections, views across the strait and a stop at Perego’s Lake. From the Prairie Ridge side you can add the Jacob and Sarah Ebey House, making about 5 miles round trip. It’s part of the 1,200-mile Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.

★ Good to know Trailhead parking is limited, there’s no drinking water, and a Discover Pass is required in the state park lots; watch for rising tides on the beach.

Fort Casey was finished in 1901 to guard the entrance to Puget Sound, and its concrete batteries are open to explore. The park also has 1.8 miles of trails, a beach, room to fly a kite and the Keystone Underwater Dive Park just offshore. It sits at 1280 Engle Road on the island’s central west side.

★ Good to know A Discover Pass is required, and Navy jets from NAS Whidbey Island sometimes fly over for hours at a time.

The 1903 lighthouse at Fort Casey has an interpretive center and gift shop, and docents let you climb the tower. Only five visitors or one family can go up at a time.

★ Good to know It opens noon to 4 p.m. on a seasonal schedule, daily in July and August and fewer days in spring, fall and winter; check the state park page before you go.

The wharf was built in 1905 to reach deep water for steamships, and at 500 feet it’s the longest dock on Whidbey Island. A grain elevator was added in 1909. A restoration finished in 2025, and today it holds a cafe, a marine education center, gift shops and kayak rentals.

★ Good to know Look for the Schooner Suva, a 65-foot wooden boat berthed here that offers tours and sails, and watch for harbor seals and eagles.

Steps from the wharf at 908 NW Alexander St., this museum covers Coast Salish life, early settlers and maritime trade. Highlights include Whidbey Island’s first car, a 1907 Holsman, an early doctor’s office and mammoth remains. A full floor is devoted to the Native people who first lived here.

★ Good to know Admission is by donation, and you can get a National Park passport stamp and Junior Ranger book here.

Front Street runs along Penn Cove through the historic district, with Kingfisher Bookstore at 16 Front St. NW and Front Street Grill among the shops and restaurants. Penn Cove mussels grow in the river-fed water right offshore. Each March, Penn Cove MusselFest brings a chowder tasting, cooking demos and boat tours of the mussel farm.

★ Good to know MusselFest is held the first weekend of March; mussel farm boat tours sell out, so buy tickets online ahead.

This free outdoor sculpture park at 678 Parker Road has a self-guided tour you run on your phone, with short videos of each sculptor explaining their work. You can walk there from downtown on a 1.5-mile path that starts on Front Street and follows 9th Street and Parker Road.

★ Good to know It’s open every day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or sunset, whichever is earlier; no dogs or bikes.

North of Ebey’s Landing at 400 Hill Valley Drive, this coastal camping park has a historic military fort. Miles of walking and biking trails run along the bluff and into shady forest.

★ Good to know Its trails are open to bikes as well as walkers, and the Kettles trail network nearby adds more mountain-bike routes.