Fort Casey is a fort on Whidbey Island in Washington, DC , It is a Washington state park and a historic district within the U.S. Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve.
Fort Casey served to protect the Admiralty Inlet, the main access to Puget Sound and thus to the 1891 founded naval port in Bremerton. Together with Fort Worden and Fort Flagler it should form a triangle of fire to take both the Juan-de-Fuca-Strait and the Admiralty Inlet from three sides under artillery fire.
The bunkers, powder magazines and passageways between the cannons can be visited. In addition there are observation towers made of concrete, headlight batteries, mortar positions and fire control systems. The former garrison uses Seattle Pacific University as a field office, and the buildings can not be visited.
Today Fort Casey is a 999-acre (404 ha) marine camping park , The Admiralty Head Lighthouse is located within the state park and Three miles of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail wrap around the park.
Access : Coordinates: 48.164167, -122.678889 / From Highway 20 on Whidbey Island, go south on Engle Road at Coupeville for about 3.25 miles.
Highlights :
- Fort Casey Historical State Park : Fort Casey Historical State Park is a 999-acre marine camping park with 10,810 feet of saltwater shoreline on Puget Sound (Admiralty Inlet) it includes Keystone Spit, a 2-mile stretch of land separating Admiralty Inlet and Crocket Lake.
- Armament : Fort Casey was armed with a total of sixteen 305-mm mortars, seven 254-mm guns and twelve smaller guns in a total of ten concrete gun batteries. The 305 mm and 152 mm batteries were equipped with retractable guns. In addition came fire control, searchlights and barracks for the garrison. To protect against enemy ships was built in 1943 at Ebey’s Landing Fort Ebey with two batteries with four 90 -mm guns. In 1942, two batteries were equipped with 76 mm anti-aircraft guns. During the Second World War, the barracks were rebuilt for the training camp.
- The Worth battery was re-equipped in 1967 with two 254mm guns, battery Trevor 1960 with two 76mm guns. However, these submersible guns are not part of Fort Casey’s original armor, but come from Fort Wint, a fortress that protects Subic Bay US base in the Philippines.
- Admiralty Head lighthouse : Admiralty Head Light is a lighthouse in Fort Casey State Park near Coupeville on Whidbey Island, Washington.The Admiralty Head, where the lighthouse is located, is the eastern entry point to the Admiralty Strait, and the southernmost point of a series of bare cliffs that continue north to Point Partridge where they reach the highest elevations.
Facilities: Restroom , Picnic area / Opening hours: 8 a.m. – dusk / Entrance fees : you will need a Discover Pass to visit. The cost is $10 for a single day or $30 for a year.
Activities : sightseeing / photo opportunities / trekking , 1.8 miles of hiking trails / Fishing (saltwater) / Diving at Keystone Underwater Dive Park / Bird watching / Admiralty Head Lighthouse Tour / The park contains a designated remote-control glider area and a parade field popular for kite-flying. / The lighthouse is open seasonally. Tours can be arranged by calling / Camping : Fort Casey State Park has 22 standard campsites, 13 partial-hookup sites / swimming
Go next : Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve is on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound region of Washington
