Fort Ebey State Park is a public recreation area occupying the site of former Fort Ebey on the west side of

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...

, west of Coupeville in Island County,

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 o ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The state park covers overlooking the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...

and lies within the Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve. It is managed by the

Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission The Washington State Park System is a set of state parks owned by the state government of Washington, USA. They are managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. There are over 140 parks throughout the state, including 19 mari ...

History

Fort Ebey was built on Partridge Point in 1942 as a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

coastal defense near the mouth of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

. The fort was named for Isaac Neff Ebey, a pioneering homesteader on Whidbey Island. The fort included a battery of two 6-inch guns that were later cut up for scrap. The state first acquired the land through the purchase of 204 acres from the federal government in 1965. Additional acquisitions were made between 1968 and 1974, adding nearly 24 acres to the site. The park was further increased through a purchase from the

Department of Natural Resources This article lists subnational environmental agencies in the United States, by state. Agencies with a variety of titles and responsibilities are included, e.g. Department of Environment, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of E ...

and a land swap arrangement with a private owner in 1990 and 1997. The park opened in 1981.

Activities and amenities

The park includes of saltwater shoreline, the freshwater Lake Pondilla, and 25 miles of trails. A stretch of the

Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail The Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) is a 1200-mile hiking trail running from the Continental Divide in Montana to the Pacific Ocean on Washington's Olympic Coast. Along the way, the PNT crosses three national parks, seven national forests, and tw ...

crosses the park. Park activities include picnicking, camping, fishing, beachcombing, and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

References

External links

Fort Ebey State Park
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Fort Ebey State Park Map
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission {{authority control State parks of Washington (state) Casey Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve Parks in Island County, Washington Protected areas established in 1965 History of Island County, Washington United States home front during World War II 1965 establishments in Washington (state)

History

Activities and amenities

See also

References

External links