4 unique places on Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island has many amazing locations like Deception Pass and the bridge, the Admiralty Head Lighthouse and its views, Fort Casey and its bunkers, historic Coupeville and its pier, artistic Langley and its amazing Whale Center, but there is much more to see on Whidbey Island! Here are four unique places that you have maybe never heard of!
Meerkerk Gardens
The gardens are in Central Whidbey, at 3531 Meerkerk Lane in Greenbank. There are 10 acres of display gardens with rhododendrons being their specialty (usually blooming in April and May), but they also have 4.5 miles of trails through 53 acres of woodlands to explore and take in! Stroll through the lawns, the Hall Garden, Rock Garden, the Cherry Tree Alley, and see the Monkey Puzzle tree which is an extraordinary tree in itself!
The Big Leaf Valley was one of my favorite locations where there are leaves that are bigger than me! There are multiple ponds, and the trickle of the streams add to this area’s uniqueness. The Meditation Garden is a lovely place for reflection, but don’t miss the charming Secret Garden and the views from the gazebo!
There are many unique benches, garden art, a plant nursery and more to visit! The Gatehouse is definitely not to be missed!
Admission is $10 for adults with kids under 13 are free! Tickets can be purchased ahead of time on their website or at the gate. Dogs on leash are welcome!
Earth Sanctuary
The 72 acres of the Earth Sanctuary are an extraordinary oasis! It has wooded wetlands that are home to ducks, waterfowl, frogs, birds, salamanders, beavers, muskrats, river otters, deer and more! There are over 15,000 individual plants of 80 species along with over 3,350 trees of 35 species!
You can do a self-guided Naturalist Tour that focuses a lot on the three ponds in the sanctuary along with the wildlife, plants and trees.
There is a self-guided Sacred Spaces Tour that takes you to the first dolmen to be built in the United States during modern times, a labyrinth, a Native American Prayer Stone, the Cottonwood and Fen Stone Circles, the sacred, Native American and Grey Whale Medicine Wheels and more.
I HIGHLY recommend using the guides on the Sanctuary website for you to follow. They don’t only have trail help, but they talk about each sacred space, how you should behave or what to do to participate in each location including prayers and meditations plus the histories and cultures of each space. Absolutely grounding and impacting for those who take the time!
The third self-guided tour is the Tour of the Sculptures! The sculptures are purposely placed throughout the Earth Sanctuary.
They include unique cairns, columns, a bell, Tibetan Prayer Flags and Wheel, Inuksui Stone Cairns, metal sculptures, standing stones, stone sculptures and so many more.
Don’t miss the Veils of Reality Sculpture by Claudia and Chuck Pettis! Stand in front of the left black steel plate, take a moment to look. It seems that everyone sees something different and something special! The power of adding art to such a special location is absolutely amazing!
The Earth Sanctuary is open to visitors every day of the year during daylight hours. There is a fee of $7 per person to visit Earth Sanctuary. Payment can be made with cash, check, PayPal or Venmo. No dogs are allowed here because of the wildlife.
Price Sculpture Forest
The Sculpture Forest located at 678 Parker Rd in Coupeville is open for art and nature lovers every day of the year from 8:00am until 7:00pm or sunset (whichever occurs earlier).
They offer free admission, with donations accepted. They do not allow dogs or bikes.
The Sculpture Forest has a self-guided tour that you can put on your phone. It has information about each sculpture, but also a short video from each artist about their own sculpture!
Included in your walk is an Augmented Reality Sculpture Exhibition brought to you by a new group of artists from around the nation! It is the first of its kind in the entire world! Be sure to check that out by following the instructions at the trailhead!
There are two forested loop trails that total 0.6 miles. The Nature Nurtured Loop is wide and mostly level, with small variances throughout. The Whimsy Way Loop wanders down a sloped hillside and then comes back up with about 100 feet of elevation difference. Since these paths are surrounded by trees, this forest would make a great escape during hot weather!
You may think some of the sculptures are missing. That’s part of the fun. The Sculpture Forest has a Where’s Waldo? type of experience. Some of the sculptures are in out of the way locations and can be a fun challenge to find. For example there is a Pegasus, which is a ¾ size horse with a 17-foot wingspan flying among the trees! Make sure you look all around when you visit!
Greenbank Farm
The historic Greenbank Farm is a wonderful stop just south of Coupeville at 765 Wonn Rd in Greenbank. The farm is a working farm, there are hiking trails with an off-leash dog park, forests and wetlands, a master garden, incredible views and more! The Port of Coupeville, along with local nonprofit organizations and community members took on the project to make Greenbank Farm into the space it is now!
The master and educational garden is taken care of by the Greenbank Garden Club and the WSU Master Gardeners. They welcome everyone to stroll through and enjoy!
There are multiple working farms that grow flowers, raise poultry and one that grows food to benefit our veterans!
This will definitely not be a quick stop for you as there are art galleries to stroll through, lunch to eat at the Old Spots Bistro and cheese tastings at the Greenbank Cheese Shop! The Cheese Shop also offers picnic foods, local foods and gifts like loganberry jam and syrup and even pottery! The Greenbank Farm Wine Shop specializes in loganberry wines, but they do offer many local wines, along with hard ciders, craft brews and meads! The Wine shop offers an ever-changing tasting menu, but they now regularly serve charcuteries and gourmet pizza!
Last up for your treats, is to visit the hugely popular, Whidbey Pies! You will not be disappointed!
There is a wonderful gift shop you will not want to miss, but your last stop (or maybe your first stop?) is the Pup Stop that is full of treats, toys and everything you need for your pup! After they have patiently waited for you to do all of your wine and cheese tastings, it is their time to try out some free samples!
Whidbey Island is not short of places to go, see and do, so I highly recommend that you just start checking them out and off of your list!
Lisa’s motto is to “Live life with Strength, Love, and Adventure!” It is even tattooed on her arm as a daily reminder! Born and raised in Washington, and now living on Puget Sound on her boat, MV Our Dance, she seeks out any adventure outdoors: kayaking down a waterway, hiking and backpacking along endless trails, listening to the waves crash while sleeping on the beach, biking a gorgeous trail, or just casting off lines and see where the Salish Sea takes her, but she is doing it all, camera in one hand and her husband’s hand in the other!
As a local and world travel, landscape and portrait photographer, Lisa has a burning passion for photography and living a purposeful life. She loves sharing what she sees, feels, and experiences to bring the World to people who cannot see it themselves and then to inspire others to seek out their own beautiful places and adventures. After her son’s suicide, she is determined and driven to share and remind everyone that there IS still beauty and good in this world!
