Windjammer Park & Freund Marsh (Oak Harbor)
We learned about this one from a great website summarizing a number of accessible outdoor adventures on Whidbey and Camano Islands. As it happens, there was some major construction on the park (also known as City Park) back in 2019 that apparently made it a lot more accessible. We found it to be a beautiful park stretching along the beach near downtown Oak Harbor, with an inlet swimming area (that Ida took advantage of on the warm July day we visited) and various semi-accessible play areas.
When we came back we found there is also a short trail through the nearby Freund Marsh that connects up with the shoreline trail. That one begins at the Scenic Heights Trail trailhead.
Key stats:
Distance: The trail through the marsh is about a half mile long and then another half mile or so along the beach in Windjammer Park. It appears to continue past the 2nd play area where it wraps around an apartment complex but we didn’t go any further at that point.
Wheelchair accessible parking? Yes
Wheelchair accessible bathrooms? Yes
Trail condition? The recently re-done paved trails in Windjammer Park are smooth and free of bumps. Those lighter colored trails (in the pictures below) intersect with darker paved trails that are older and bumpier, though still relatively smooth.
The trail through Freund Marsh is hard-packed gravel.
Highlights? The name “Windjammer” doesn’t disappoint. On the day we visited there was a nice breeze that allowed us to fly various kites along the trail and looking over the beach (see the second picture below). We also loved the connection the park has with the local public library, including a section of the trail with large signs that are pages of a chosen kids’ picture book that you can read as you weave along the path.
The Freund Marsh trail has lots of birds and feels somewhat remote in the first part, then starts to get urban as you can see nearby grocery stores in Oak Harbor from the trail.
More information about Windjammer Park here.
Freund Marsh:
