Whidbey Island is an island in Washington State. It is in Puget Sound and part of the San Juan Islands. The population of Whidbey Island is estimated at 56,000. Whidbey Island 30 miles north of down town Seattle, Washington. Whidbey Island lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 Western Washington corridor. The Whidbey Island west coast faces to the eastern entrance to Admiralty Inlet and the Strait of Jaun de Fuca. To the South of Whidbey Island is Puget Sound. To the East of Whidbey Island is Saratoga Passage and Possession Sound. To the very North of Whidbey Island is Deception Pass.

Depending on source and measure, Whidbey Island is 66 km (41 miles) and 100 km (62 miles long. Whidbey Island is 2 to 16 km (1,5-10 miles) wide. Whidbey Island has a land area of 538.7 km squared. Whidbey Island is either the second or thirds largest island on the contiguous United States after Long Island, NY and Isle Royale, MI. Recently Long Island has been described as a Peninsula in which may move Whidbey Island to second largest.

Europeans in 1790 (Captain George Vancouver) discovered Whidbey Island. Prior to this, Whidbey Island was inhabited by Native American tribes such as the Skagit, Swinomish, Suquamish and the Snohomish.

In May of 1790, Joseph Whidbey circumnavigated Whidbey Island. This is where Whidbey Island gets its name. Captain Vancouver named it after him in June of the same year. Joseph Whidbey and Peter Puget mapped the area of Whidbey Island and explored the areas of Puget Sound. The oldest record of a overnight stay on Whidbey Island was by Father Blanchet who was a Catholic missionary at the time. He traveled across Puget Sound on May 26 th, 1840.

In 1842 LT Charles Wilkes, Commander of the triumphant U.S. Exploring Expedition named the lower cove after his assistance surgeon, Silas Homes. This today on Whidbey Island is called Holms Harbor. Virtually all WhidbeyHOLIDAY.com property is located Water Front on Holms Harbor. Colonel Isaac Ebey became the first permanent European settler on Whidbey Island in 1850. He worked as a postmaster and rowed a boat every day to Port Townsend. Not a great end of Mr. Ebey. He was beheaded by Northern Indians who wanted revenge against white leaders. It seams likely that the real target on Whidbey Island was John Kellogg. He lived on Whidbey Island near Admiralty Head. This is on the west side of the central part of Whidbey Island just Northwest of Coopeville today. Fort Ebey that was established in 1942 is named in his honor.

More recently in 1984, Whidbey Island was the battle ground between Robert Jay Mathews (who headed a white nationalist group and organized crime on Whidbey. This lead to a violent encounter on Whidbey Island.

Whidbey Island government along with Camano Island and a few uninhabited island is all a part of Island County, Washington. Whidbey Island is the home of Island County’s Government Seat. Whidbey Island creates a strategic problem for county-wide services. There is no direct route of transportation between Whidbey Island and Camano Island without passing through another county. Coopville supports a location hospital as well as services in Clinton. There is a hospital on Whidbey Island for military personnel at the Navel Air Station. It is also for veteran retires and their dependants.

Whidbey Island is an agricultural economy. Whidbey Island’s north end is more urbanized that Whidbey Island’s south end. The north end of Whidbey Island, in and around Oak Harbor has attracted many national chain stores (Taco Bell, Wall Mart, etc.). This area of Whidbey Island is supported predominantly by the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Whidbey Island south remains more rural. This includes small Whidbey Island towns, farmlands, wooded acres and many state parks. WhidbeyHOLIDAY property in Freeland at Holms Harbor is in the southern part of Whidbey Island.

Whidbey Island is connected to the main land via a bridge at the North end of Whidbey Island at Deception Pass. At the South end of Whidbey Island at Clinton, there is a regular scheduled Mulilteo (Seattle side) to Clinton (Whidbey Island side). Near the central western shore on Whidbey Island, you can take a ferry from Keystone to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula.

Whidbey Island is supported by tourism. This holds true for towns on Whidbey Island such as Coupeville (City of Captains) and the Langley (an artistic village). Whidbey Island is a summer and weekend destination for many people who live in the Pacific North West. Whidbey Island’s Deception Pass is the most visited State Park in Washington State. Whidbey Island’s motto is “Do Nothing Here.” WhidbeyHOLIDAY.com supports the quiet restful atmosphere of Whidbey Island. All of the WhidbeyHOLIDAY.com properties will give you a sense of upscale living with the quiet restful atmosphere that Whidbey Island is known for.

Whidbey Island is unique in that it rests partially in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. This creates a variety of claimants on Whidbey Island. For example with rain fall. South Whidbey Island can have an average rainfall of 30 inches a year. Mid Whidbey Island averages about 18 to 20 inches a year. North Whidbey Island averages 26 inches a year. Whidbey Island supports a wide variety of Microclimates. This is determined by:

Climate changes on Whidbey Island create an environment to support a highly diverse plat life.

Reaching Whidbey Island from the North, one would take Washington State Route 20 over the Deception Pass bridge. On the West Coast of Whidbey Island, one would catch the Keystone to Port Townsend ferry and via Washington State Route 525 on the Mukilteo / Clinton ferry service supporting south Whidbey Island.

Traveling on Whidbey Island makes extensive use of country road systems. They all act as Whidbey Island feeders to Washington State Route 535 and Washington State Route 20.

Whidbey Island has a public transportation system called Island Transit. This is a free bus system that is paid for by a 6/10 th of 1% tax within the county. There are currently 9 bus routes. You will find that the Whidbey Island free bus system doe not run on Sunday or major holidays. In addition, the Whidbey Island free bus system offers limited service on Saturday.

Whidbey Island has two public airports. There is a runway that is just southwest of Langley and the other is near Oak Harbors. There are more than 6 dirt runways that are private and consist of dirt. Just south of Coopville, the Navy has a flight training facility. A large airport facility is also maintained on Whidbey Island by the Navy.The Oak Harbor Marina on Whidbey Island was used for a time for landing flights from Seattle’s Union Bay.

The population of Whidbey Island is estimated at 56,000 residence. The area’s of Whidbey Island that have post offices are noted below with their supporting populations and zip codes: