Save Cama Beach Cabins

Final Budget

No Funding for Cama Beach Cabins

At the close of the legislative session the final legislative budget included $600,000 for a study of Waster water management options and cost estimates and a proposal for mitigation of any damage or loss resulting from repairs to the existing seawall.

I want to thank all of you for your calls and letters. You all helped, along with Rep. Shavers, Rep. Paul from the 10th district and help from the Chair of the House Capital Budget in getting the funding into the final legislative budget. Given the serious money issues it was a great success in getting the funding included.

Unfortunately, Governor Ferguson chose to use his line item veto and eliminated the funding in the final budget. It was very disappointing for all of us who have been working to get the cabins reopened. His reason for vetoing Section 3054 was, “This section requires an engineering study of certain structures at Cama Beach State Park. This requires consultation because it is a culturally sensitive area. A veto of this study will allow time for State Parks to engage meaningfully with the affected Tribes on this issue. For these reasons I am vetoing Section 3054.”

We had hoped that we were at least moving forward on getting the cabins reopened. The budget proviso included consultation with the Tribes on both studies so it is unclear why it would have been vetoed for this reason.

When we started this process, we had hoped to get help from the Legislature which we did and now we need to look at our options for moving forward. We are not ready to give up and I hope you aren’t ready to give up either. The cabins at Cama Beach are special and we need to find a way to make the cabins available to the public again. In the next few weeks we will be looking at our options and deciding what we want to do. It is clear that those in support of keeping the cabins closed wield considerable political power.

updated: Jun 16, 2025

Welcome to "Save Cama Beach Cabins"

Save Cama Beach Cabins (SCBC) is a non-proﬁt corporation dedicated to reopening the cabins at Cama Beach State Park and keeping them open for future generations.

Cama Beach is a national historic treasure. It is the only remaining, intact, 1930’s era, saltwater, ﬁshing resort on the West Coast ... or it was until the Park Commissioners’ ill-advised decision to permanently close all 33 cabins despite overwhelming public support to reopen the cabins.

Prior to closing the cabins, Cama Beach State Park was one of the most popular parks in the State. In a typical year, about 19,000 people used the cabins and during their stays renewed old friendships, formed new bonds, and made many priceless memories. All the campers and the other 270,000 annual visitors brought in several million dollars annually into the local economy.

We are asking the State Legislature to fund the infrastructure repairs (especially the septic system) so the cabins can reopen in Summer 2025. Additional funding is being requested for long-ranging planning to assure the cabins remain open for many years.

YOU CAN HELP!! Contact your local elected oﬃcials and urge them to support funding that requires State Parks management to reopen the cabins.

Contact the your State Legislators, the Governor, and the Island County Commissioners urging them to support this funding. Share with all of your friends.

Return Cama Beach State Park to the wonderful place it was when visitors could stay in the Cabins at the Beach!

With one call to the Legislative Hotline, 800-562-6000, you can send the same message to your State Senator and both State Representatives.

Or contact your electeds separately:

If you live on Camano Island or in Stanwood, you are in Legislative District 10 and your electeds are:

Representative Clyde Shavers: 360-786- 7884,

https://leg.wa.gov/legislators/member/clyde-shavers

Representative Dave Paul: 360-786-7914, https://leg.wa.gov/legislators/member/dave-paul

Senator Ron Muzzall: 360-786-7618, https://leg.wa.gov/legislators/member/ron-muzzall

Governor Bob Ferguson’s Oﬃce: 360-902-4111

Island County Commissioners: (360)-679-7354

We need statewide support! Please call, write, or email voicing your support even if you don’t live on Camano Island. If you need help finding your senator and representatives use the “District Finder” map tool https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder. Just type in your address and the names of your electeds will pop up.