Wow, do we have a big one for you! This past week, we took a multi-day trip exploring Whidbey Island in Washington. Coming from Vancouver, we're already slowly working through a list visiting the Gulf Islands of British Columbia and Whidbey Island reminded me of parts of that. It opened up a whole new list of places for us to visit. To date, this was the longest trip that we've taken with Markus so far, so buckle up and we hope you enjoy what we have in store for you!

Captain Whidbey Inn

• Type: Hotel (3-star)

• Pet Fee: $50/stay

• Suite Available: No

We had a harder time finding accommodations on Whidbey Island. One of the reasons is that because it's more "town-like", it's harder to find the usual hotel chains that you're used to seeing. As a result, we found that there weren't too many hotels in our price range to choose from and that was even before we started filtering out the pet amenities.

Since a lot of the buildings on the islands are older and even historical in some ways, a lot of them didn't allow pets. And for the ones that accepted pets, the room's rate or the pet fee priced us out. For even other hotels, the building, the rooms and the decor inside was very Victorian and we didn't feel comfortable bringing a dog to those places (and they were also expensive). Needless to say, we struggled to find a place that allowed pets and didn't break the bank.

Enter Captain Whidbey Inn.

In our search results, Captain Whidbey Inn didn't originally turn up because we had the pet-friendly filter on, but they checked all the boxes for everything else - they were reasonably priced and the rooms were what we were looking for. The only missing check was that it had no mention on their website or reviews/comments if they were pet-friendly. So we gave them a call and to our joy, they were. And with that, all the boxes were checked and we booked our stay.

As it turned out, Captain Whidbey Inn had been undergoing an ownership change so these things like stating whether they were pet-friendly or not on the website was still being sorted out. The new owners' vision - and I definitely felt this while I was there - was to upgrade and modernize the experience of the stay through the rooms, the restaurant, the customer service and their outdoor amenities while preserving the historical charm that come with the storied history and appearance of their buildings.

Great Attention to Customer Care

Throughout the stay, I felt very taken care of by the staff, of course, but also by the little nuances built into the property by the owners thinking a step ahead. For instance, since we had Markus with us, our room was in a dog-dedicated 4-room building. I recall taking Markus downstairs for a quick walk in the evening and I remember thinking how dark it was since it was late already. The next thing I know, an automatic light turned on, spotlighting a dog area with poop bags and a garbage can to dispose the bags. Wow. Nice touch.

Another instance of this is that our dog Markus can become very territorial with his space. If he gets comfortable in a room and hears voices or loud footsteps, it could trigger him to bark. For this reason, we like to keep an air conditioner or sometimes even the television on to help drown out the noise. Since this room was older and didn't come with an air conditioner or a TV, we just crossed our fingers that the room next to us would either not have anyone check-in for the night or that they won't be too loud. But then I saw it. Is that a white noise machine? Seriously!? I don't know if they have one of these in all the rooms, but problem solved.

Aside from that, the rooms were great. It reminded me a little bit of the cabin camping that I used to do as a child, but these cabins were decorated with the oh, so familiar, yet homey feeling of IKEA furniture. I personally don't feel too comfortable sleeping in older beds with Victorian quilts and hand-carved wooden bed frames, but IKEA beds? That's my jam.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the restaurant and the experience of being in the main lodge. The food at the restaurant was so good and we enjoyed everything we ordered. There was such a nice charm to the main lodge as well, but with a touch of modern. I noticed Sonos-style speakers throughout the lodge and chill acoustic music was filling up all the rooms in a very ambient way.

If I haven't made it clear, we enjoyed our stay at Captain Whidbey Inn and since we're sure to come back and explore more of Whidbey Island, we'll be sure to stop here again.

Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs

Captain Whidbey has a building dedicated for dog owners - the one by the lit field with the poop bags and garbage can. While we were there, we didn’t come across another dog and we were lucky in that sense. Still, there are only 4 rooms in this building, so at the very most, you know there are only three other dog owners there with you. The rooms was a bit tighter and awkward to move around, but we didn’t have any issues with the space with Markus.

I will say that we weren’t so sure about the proximity of our room with the one beside it. It felt close and it looked to share a wall, so we were concerned that Markus could potentially hear the neighbours and bark at them. However, we were lucky because that room was vacant for the night, so we ended up not concerning us.

Double Bluff Beach and Off-Leash Area

On one of the stops for Markus on Whidbey Island, we passed by Double Bluff Beach. As its name suggests, it is a beach with an off-leash dog area located at the beginning part of the beach. Our time here was very enjoyable and it wasn't busy at all, which is great for a reactive dog like Markus. If you wanted a quiet place to enjoy the view while your dog runs around, we would highly recommend making a stop at Double Bluff Beach.

We did a full breakdown of Double Bluff Beach and Off-Leash Area that you can find here.

Rosario Head Trail

If you're anything like me, you're all about those easy-win hikes. You know what I mean - the low effort/high reward type hikes. Well, the Rosario Head Trail is one of those hikes. Just on the other side of Deception Pass Bridge and technically on Fidalgo Island, the hike was easy to do (though there are some steep parts at the beginning), but the view at the end is outstanding. If you're looking for amazing views, this is the hike for you!

We did a full breakdown of the Rosario Head Trail that you can find here.

Fort Casey Historical State Park

Coming from Canada, parks like the Fort Casey Historical State Park aren't as common and they're fascinating to visit. Seeing it from the front and the back, it's interesting to see how it just looks like a hill from the front, but then it falls off and there's an entire fort built behind it. Hidden inside the fort were a pair of 10-inch guns, which were created in the early 1900's and are no longer used today.

Since dogs aren't likely to be able to appreciate the fort, this stop is really for humans, but there are plenty of grassy areas for dogs as well. There are enough pathways along the outside where dogs can get to the top and bottom of the fort without having to climb through it. On the far end, there's also a lighthouse that we didn't go into, but we certainly posed for pictures in front of it!

Please note that this is a state park (which means there's a fee to get in). There was a pay station at this park.

Deception Pass Bridge

Deception Pass Bridge is a long bridge that connects Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island (with the smaller Pass Island in between). While we didn't walk across the bridge, you certainly could. Heading north, there was a small parking lot on the left just before the bridge where we pulled over and instead of walking across the bridge, we went down a set of stairs towards a beach instead. The beach is what you would expect - sand and logs, so plenty of areas for your dog and plenty of places to take pictures.

Built in the 1930's, the bridge is one of the scenic wonders of the Pacific Northwest. If you're heading to or from Whidbey Island and you're not taking a ferry, you'll pass by the bridge anyways, so you might as well take a few minutes to pull into the parking lot and enjoy the view of the bridge from the beach (or walk the bridge if you dare)!

Other things to do on Whidbey Island

Langley

On one of our stops, we ended up in the small city of Langley. The town was beautiful and one of the things we got to do was walk along the Seawall Park. If it's low tide, you can actually take a set of stairs down to the sand and walk along the water. The view of Camano Island from here was beautiful. This stop was meant to be a short one for us, but we ended up spending a decent amount of time here just enjoying the views!

Mount Erie

On the drive home (cutting through Burlington and back on the I-5), we went out of our way to get to the top of Mount Erie. Mount Erie is only the drive up and when you get to the top, you're basically at the lookout already. The view atop Mount Erie overlooks Lake Campbell and it's worth it for the drive up.

If you have a little bit of time, we recommend taking a quick stop here. If you have your dog with you, there are trees and areas for your dog at the top as well. That said, I would make sure your dog is leashed since, well, you're at the top of a mountain!

Windjammer Park/City Beach

The Windjammer Park/City Beach was less of a stop that we sought out and more of a stop for the sake of walking Markus. We were fairly surprised with the park, though. I noticed that it was very clean and well-maintained and while we were at this park, I felt that it was a great space for the community. If you needed a quicker place to take your dog that isn't a hike or a trail, this would be a nice place for you.

Disclaimer

Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.

Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.