2 Best Sights in Washington Cascade Mountains and Valleys, Washington

South of Fairhaven and accessed from Chuckanut Drive, this rugged 2,683-acre park offers an 8,100-foot stretch of rocky shore with quiet, sandy coves and also has trails that climb up along the slopes of Chuckanut Mountain. Even though the mountain has been logged repeatedly, there's still plenty of lush forest. Trails lead through ferny fir and maple forests to hidden lakes, caves, and cliff-top lookouts from which you can see to the San Juan Islands—the 4½-mile round-trip Fragrance Lake loop is a particularly rewarding hike. At the shore there's a sheltered boat launch; you can go crabbing here or watch the birds—and the occasional harbor seal—that perch on the offshore rocks. The area west of Chuckanut Drive has picnic tables as well as tent and RV sites with hookups, which are open all year.

Adjoining the small waterfront community of the same name, this scenic 25-acre park has a campground with cabins in the woods and picnic tables on the low grassy bluff above Padilla Bay, a national estaurine sanctuary. Canoers and kayakers take note: Padilla Bay runs almost dry at low tide, when water is restricted to a few creeklike tidal channels.