Bay View State Park

For the most part this was a wonderful stay. When we arrived we spent all our cash before hand and had to ask to pay debit card for 2 night $ 15/​night pet fee.
The staff were very accommodating and very sweet about telling us about how the park ranger was strict on keeping our dog leashed at all times. Our dog didn’t enjoy being tied up anytime we were cooking outside but it was better then a hefty fine.
There was a lady and her child who acted like we were behind her kid stepping in dog poop. But when both me and my partner who pulled out poop bags after she asked us for one… she promptly dismissed herself.
The cabin was great although the neighbor cabin was pretty noisy with her screaming children. But that’s not any reflection of the property. The bathrooms had showers for 50 cents with super hot water.
I wish there were more parks like this one that were dog friendly. If you are a responsible pet owner like us, then this place is for you!

Not bad but not fantastic. Water said no animals or people. Bathrooms were gross. Spots were small.

Apparently they now take reservations year round (
), so no more ‘first come-​first served’ for your favorite spots. Very nice little park, not overrun with Canadians like Birch Bay or Larrabee SP’s are (because WA State Parks are light years better than BC Provincial Parks). The utility sites are mostly level, but the growth between sites can limit awning use. Everyone there is friendly, the staff is great and the park is always very clean.
Further reviews can be found on
, but I will add that cell coverage is good, and TV comes in over the air from Seattle and Bellingham, (plus analog stations from BC) and Dish coverage is good in most spots, even with roof mounted receivers.
Bay View is worth the drive and the money — go there and enjoy your weekend!

Nice clean park, divided on both sides of the highway. East side (away from water) has cabins, pull ins for RV’s with/​with out full hook-​ups and in the middle of it all is a huge grassy field for playing catch, soaking up some rays or whatever. It’s really nice.
The other side of the park is beach. A ton of beach access, you can see the different islands easily and they have a reader board that explains which island you are looking at. Really neat and very educational.
You will need either a Discovery Pass or pay the daily rate of $ 10 to park. There are fire pits, picnic tables and BBQ grills.
This park is very well maintained.

Great way to escape the city for a weekend, even in winter! I just got back from a weekend in cabin #2, and it was awesome. It was pretty simple — 1 queen and 2 twin beds (bunk bed style), a small table and chairs for two, a porch swing (loved the porch swing), and fire pit and picnic table outside with a great view of the bay, factories, mountains, etc. We spent the weekend hanging out, reading, building a fire, and walking down to the waterfront.
The camp host was a really nice guy. He told us that cabins 5 & 6 have bathrooms and cost a bit more than 1 – 4. There isn’t much privacy for any of the cabins. Cabin 1 is tucked slightly behind 2; 3 & 4 seem like a good pair to rent together. They have a big ‘group site’ for tent camping, with room for 65, according to the host. That would be tight, but it seems like there is room for 6 – 8 tents with lots of room in between. The rv/​tent camping spots looked pretty barebones and close together, but wouldn’t be bad as a base camp for adventuring around Bellingham, Anacortes, Whidbey, etc.
Downtown Anacortes is a nice place to grab a meal and drink, maybe 15 minutes away. If you find them strangely beautiful, like we did, you can drive around the little peninsula that houses the big Shell Oil refinery. We saw a few bald eagles out there, and with the backdrop of oil production, it just felt so darn American it hurt. And smelled bad.

This is a decent park.
Pros:
There is a great big play field in the middle of the park. Kids congregate and it is cool.
The beach area has a lot of grass and great wind for kites.
There are bald eagles flying all over the place.
There is a decent small aquarium a short drive N. of the park. Worth an hour maybe. Good on a rainy day.
Cons:
The camp sites are a touch close together.
The beach, when the tide goes out, is a giant mud flat. Don’t plan on tide-​pooling here.
The mens room seems to have a perennially wet floor.
The connections to the sites are mostly gravel — don’t expect your scooter or road bike to be of much use.