Rosario Beach is a popular place to hang out for a waterfront picnic, read from a beach chair, or take some short hikes along the rocky coastline, all located on the north side of Deception Pass State Park (Fidalgo Island). It’s accessed from highway 20, with good parking available though it can be tight finding spaces on a busy summer day. Picnic facilities, group cooking shelters, a public dock, restrooms, and nearby access to Bowman Bay are all there as well.

After skipping some stones from the beach (lots of great skipping stones there!), wander up past the Samish Indian story pole and go into the woods for a short loop trail that rises up along the rock cliffs of Rosario Head. Sweeping views look out to Deception Pass, Whidbey Island, Bowman Bay, Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Olympic Mountains, San Juan Islands, and Vancouver Island. Kelp beds sway in the currents below, and are sometimes traversed by inquisitive kayakers.

Deception Pass State Park Rosario Beach Samish Indian Story Pole (sometime incorrectly called a totem pole here)

Maiden of Deception Pass story pole from Samish Indian Nation



Deception Pass State Park Rosario Head With Kayaker In Kelp Beds Below Cliff

Kayaker below Rosario Head on the Deception Pass side, with Whidbey in the distance