Lime Kiln Point State Park is a 42-acre

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

on the western shore of

San Juan Island San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington (state), Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 6,822 as of the United States ...

in the

San Juan archipelago The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

. The park is considered one of the best places in the world to view wild

orcas The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...

from a land-based facility. Due to the unique

bathymetric Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (''seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water de ...

properties of the site, visitors on the shore can be within 20 feet of

whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

jumping out of the water ( breaching and

spyhopping Cetacean surfacing behaviour is a grouping of movement types that cetaceans make at the water's surface in addition to breathing. Cetaceans have developed and use surface behaviours for many functions such as display, feeding and communication. A ...

). It houses one of Friday Harbor's two lighthouses along with a stone lookout with picnic tables. The park was the site of

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is :Calcium carbonate, Ca ...

s beginning in 1860, and one kiln has been restored as a public exhibit.

Activities and amenities

The park provides opportunities for picnicking, hiking, beachcombing, orca watching, and tours of the still operational Lime Kiln Light. An interpretive center has displays and activities about orcas and the area's former lime kiln industry. The park is supported in part by the Friends of Lime Kiln. Volunteers and marine naturalists are often onsite to assist and educate visitors.

References

External links

Lime Kiln Point State Park
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Lime Kiln Point State Park Map
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission {{authority control Parks in San Juan County, Washington State parks of Washington (state) Protected areas established in 1984