Prehistory
The Kikialus or Kikialos, one of the four tribes now comprising the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, occupied the drainage of the south fork of the Skagit River downstream from what is now Mount Vernon, as well as much of Camano Island. Major permanent villages were in the area of what is now Utsalady on the island's north end and Camp Lagoon on the northwest. Smaller year round settlements were likely at Brown's Point, Madrona, Camano City and Juniper Beach. People from these villages often camped at Cama Beach. Other tribes that did not have permanent villages on Camano Island also had seasonal camps at Cama Beach.
Logging
The old growth timber on Camano Island was logged between 1890 and 1930. Until it closed in 1891, the major sawmill was at Utsalady. Cama Beach was the location of English Logging Company's Camp 2. The steep hill road that was later the main entrance to the resort during the autopark years was at first a skid road built for dragging logs down to a mill pond.
Family Fishing Resort
The Cama Beach autopark resort opened May 19, 1934. That first year, people from Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Vancouver, B.C., Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Missouri visited the resort. The resort continued to attract visitors over a wide area for 55 years until it closed in 1989.
Cama Beach Historic State Park
Cama Beach Historic State Park opened in 2008. The grand opening was celebrated on June 21, 2008 with representatives from The Center for Wooden Boats, the Stillaguamish Tribe, the Upper Skagit Tribe, Beach Watchers, Friends of Camano Island Parks (FOCIP), Stanwood Historical Society, the Camano/Cama Quilters, the local Chamber of Commerce and Camano Sail. The Upper Skagit Tribe hosted a salmon feed during the celebration with enough salmon for 500 people. The cabins quickly became popular and were always booked through the summer months until they were closed in 2024. The many activities provided to the public included intertidal beach walks, presentations on nature and science, boating, fishing, crabbing, boat building, toy boat building, wildlife viewing, and quilting. Relaxing and just having fun on the beach was always a popular attraction. The photos below document many of these activities and serve as a reminder of what has been lost with the closing of the cabins.
