Camano Island is so close to Seattle it can be a day trip, I’ve been telling everyone since we went there a few weeks ago. But I don’t know if this is entirely truthful. Yes, Camano Island is barely just over an hour from Seattle but if you want to try all the delicious foods on the island, you’re going to need more than a day. My foodie interest in Camano Island was piqued when I saw a picture of Camano Commons in a tourism posting. How had I never been here?
Camano Commons
Camano Commons is a perfect smorgasbord place full of food, art and gathering. It’s the type of place you feel like you could linger at all day if you really wanted to. You could start the day out with a cup of coffee and pastry at the Baked Cafe, then head upstairs to linger over your 2nd cup and work on something creative or meet with a friend. On a sunny day you’ll want to sit in the chairs on the big lawn area with a scoop of ice cream or hang out at Tapped for more drinks and more yummy food. My mom and I had Scout with us when we went to Camano Commons and I was so thankful that it was dog-friendly too.
At Baked we tried an everything “cragel” which I think was like a croissant bagel and I’ve never had one one these before. This was so delicious. And my mom picked up a loaf of the cinnamon bread which ended up being almost like a cinnamon bun in bread form. We also had sandwiches from the Sub Joint there.
We took out Tapped for one of our meals and brought it back to our Airbnb. The salad I had was delicious and I love that they have pretzels with cheese.
And another takeout option on Camano Island?
We found it in a grocery store. We wanted to eat at the Blue Heron Kitchen And Bar but Scout was with us and I wasn’t sure what to do with him. We will try this one on our next visit-it looks really delicious. So I looked up a couple takeout places nearby and found Camano Thai.
We ordered a couple dishes and got home in time to watch the sunset from our Airbnb while we ate and then we rushed to the beach to catch the last drops of light. Sometimes the loveliest reason to book an Airbnb is for their locations and views and this one had access to such a beautiful beach.
We also found the best scone while looking for the best cinnamon bun
I heard we had to go to Cama Beach Cafe for their cinnamon buns and I picked up a scone for my dad who loves scones. And since they had a ‘half-scone’ option on the menu, I thought my mom and I might try that with our coffee too. If I had to tell you which was better, the scone or the cinnamon bun I don’t think I’d be able to choose.
And as for things to see on Camano Island?
We could have spent way more time hiking around and beach combing at Cama Beach State Park. We also really enjoyed walking around English Boom Park as well. Next time I want to come to see more art places-the sculpture garden we visited was really beautiful and even the “gateway to Camano Island” sculpture garden near a giant playground needed more time than the 10 minutes or so we spent on this spot.
My visit was hosted by Tourism Whidbey and Camano and on my way home I was told to pick up some takeout from Cristy’s Lumpia. My family devoured the lumpia and thoroughly enjoyed the pancit and pineapple chicken. So yes, it is close enough to Seattle that it could be a day trip, but if you want to eat and see it all on Camano Island you probably want to spend a night or two.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)