The Three Girls at Rosario

One of my favorite parks to visit is Rosario, just past Deception Pass (off island).  It is incredibly beautiful in a 'other worldly' sense. It feels like there is a history there.  Like ancient people are still walking around gathering shellfish and burning fires. It is hard to explain without showing you, but I will try...

There  are incredible water views as you walk from the parking toward the beach.  On the left is a harbor with rolling treed hills in the background and an old wooden dock in the distance.   Little coves  are cut off from each other by jutting rocks that are bigger than a house, and make it look like there are several small beaches.  A trail winds past a giant carved wood statue of a half-girl, half-mermaid, and if you look a bit closer you will see that there are four placards that tell the story of how the girl turned into a mermaid, set on this very beach.  On the right is another beach with huge logs and small smooth flat stones.  A large rocky island fills up the view and several small rocks jut out off the beach making tide pools to explore. 

If you pass the beach and follow the trail up the hill through the madrona trees, you will come to a vast lookout toward Whidbey Island and another smaller island with a few trees on it.  The lookout drops off abruptly  toward the water and if you dare peer over the edge, you will see kelp beds that undulate with the waves.