Washington State Parks

Park overview:

Patos Island State Park is a 207-acre marine park with 20,000 feet of saltwater shoreline. The island is owned by the federal government and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management's Wenatchee Office. The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission operates a small campground facility at Active Cove near the west side of the island, maintains a 1.5 mile loop trail and has two offshore mooring bouys.



Want to support Washington State Parks? Get involved by joining a friends' group. For more information, visit the Friends' Group web page.

Park hours/updates:

Summer hours: 6:30 a.m. to dusk
Winter hours: 8 a.m. to dusk
Quiet hours: 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. No generators in use from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m.

The park is open year round for camping and day use.

Agency information:

Don't move firewood: Please protect the Pacific Northwest from invasive species by obtaining or purchasing your firewood at or near your camping destination (within 50 miles). Firewood can carry insects and diseases that threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by buying and burning your firewood locally. For more information, visit online at www.dontmovefirewood.org or the Washington Invasive Species Council website.

Campsite Information:

The park offers seven campsites, one picnic site, two pit toilets and one vault toilet at Active Cove. Campers must register at the bulletin board near the beach.

There is no potable water or garbage service on Patos Island. Visitors must pack out what they pack in.

2013 camping fees:

Please note that the following general fee information is not customized for each individual park, so not all fees will apply to all parks (for example, primitive campsite and dump station fees listed apply only to parks that have primitive campsites and dump stations).

May 15 – Sept. 15 (peak season)
Primitive campsite and water trail camping: $12
Standard campsite: $23 non-premium site, $26 premium site
Partial-utility campsite*: $30 non-premium site, $35 premium site
Full-utility campsite*: $32 non-premium site, $37 premium site
*Please note: Camping fees during the 2013 peak season are $28 for partial-utility sites and $29 for full-utility sites at Beacon Rock, Lewis & Clark and Schafer state parks. These parks are first come, first served.

Jan. 1 – May 14 and Sept. 16 – Dec. 31 (off-peak season)
Primitive campsite and water trail camping: $12
Standard campsite: $22 for non-premium and premium sites
Partial-utility campsite: $28 for non-premium and premium sites
Full-utility campsite: $29 for non-premium and premium sites

Maximum eight people per campsite.

Second vehicle: $10 per night is charged for a second vehicle unless it is towed by a recreational vehicle. Extra vehicles must be parked in designated campsite or extra vehicle parking spaces.

Dump stations (if available): Year-round dump station fees are $5 per use. If you are camping, this fee is included in your campsite fee.

More about park hours
Check-in time is 2:30 p.m., and check-out time is 1 p.m.
Quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
Engine-driven electric generators may be operated only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Length of stay: You may stay up to ten consecutive days in any one park from April 1 through Sept. 30; the stay limit is extended to 20 days between Oct. 1 and March 31.

Park Features

Patos Island is designated a federal Wilderness Area. Visitor activities onshore are limited to use of the campsites at Active Cove, the 1.5-mile loop trail and the lighthouse reserve area at Alden Point on the west side of the island. All other portions of the island and the Little Patos Island are closed to public access.

History

Archaeological sites indicate Native Americans used the island for thousands of years as a shellfish harvesting site. Europeans first discovered the island during the late 1700s when the Spanish Elisa Expedition surveyed the area. The island was named Patos Island which is Spanish for duck. Alcid sea birds, sometimes referred to as "ducks," are abundant in the area. A rock formation in the small east cove near Toe Pint is shaped like a duck's head.

In the 1890s, a lighthouse station was established at Alden Point and the existing lighthouse was finished in 1918. The lighthouse station was occupied and operated by Lighthouse Service and the U.S. Coast Guard staff and their families until the late 1960s. Civilian employees then Washington State Parks staff lived and operated the site until it was finally automated in the 1970s. Numerous buildings were contructed at the station over the years, but all facilities except the lighthouse have been razed and burned by the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The last remaining support building, a 1950s duplex residence, was burned on Nov. 18, 2005. The BLM intends to re-establish native flora to the site.

Interpretive opportunities

Lighthouse tours are offered on most weekends from Memorial Day through Labor Day (weather and tide permitting). Please call Sucia Island State Park at 360-376-2073 for information and availability.

Services/Supplies

The nearest fuel and limited groceries are seasonally available at West Beach Resort, seven miles southeast on Orcas Island.

None

Activities

Trails	Water Activities	Other
	• Boating (saltwater) • Diving • Fishing (saltwater) • Clamming • Crabbing
A recreational license is required for fishing and shellfish harvesting at Washington state parks. For regulations, fishing season information or to purchase a recreational license, visit the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife website.

Events

Events
Date/time	Event description	State Park
Saturdays and Sundays Memorial Day to Labor Day	Lighthouse Tours: Take a guided tour to the lighthouse on Patos Island. Tours are offered most weekends from Memorial Day through Labor Day (weather and tide permitting). Please call the Sucia Island State Park office at (360) 376-2073 for information and availability.	Patos Island (360) 376-2073

Find other events at Washington State Parks

Boating Features

The park has two mooring buoys in Active Cove.

The moorage area at Active Cove has strong currents flowing through it and is exposed to strong westerly winds from the Georgia Strait. Boaters should check weather reports and avoid anchoring at this site during weather forecasts which call for high pressure systems and westerly winds exceeding 12 knots in southern Georgia Strait. Boats commonly drag anchor and may go aground during these conditions.

The two offshore mooring buoys are in service year round. Please observe mooring limitations posted on the buoys and at the onshore bulletin boards.

Moorage fees are required from 1 p.m. to 8 a.m. Boaters must register and pay moorage onshore at the pay station.

Picnic and Day-use Facilities

There is no potable water or garbage service on Patos Island. Visitors must pack out what they pack in.

Wildlife

Mammals	Birds	Fish & Sea Life
• Raccoons		• Seals

Environmental Features

Physical Features		Plant Life
		• Douglas Fir