Sea Glass - Cama Beach, Camano Island
by Pete Suchon
 We had high hopes for finding lots of glass at this beach, the latest addition to the Washington State Park system. Cama Beach was a privately owned fishing camp from the 1930's until the 90's when the family that owned the property deeded it to the state. It then languished for 12 years while the state did whatever it is they do and finally opened to the public in the summer of 2008. Pat and I visited in the early spring of 2009, here is what we found. There is parking but it is well away from the beach. Plan on walking about 1/4 mile down to the beach. The beach itself is rocky, golf ball to fist size with some larger. Being a fishing camp there is a fair amount of brown and green glass but here's the thing... between the large rocks and a relatively calm waterfront there has been almost no weathering of the glass. The glass seems to have settled between and under the stones and doesn't "wash" much with the small wave action. Cama beach is just north of Camano Island State Park and at low tide you can walk from one park to the other along the beach but the conditions are the same all along this coast. So if you are looking for more than a nice walk on the beach, you will be out of luck. Also, the park rangers here take a dim view of anyone removing items from the beach. Despite the park website touting "Beachcombing" as one of the attractions, we were stopped by a pair of rangers who confiscated the walking sticks we had picked up during the day. We were told that NO items may be removed from the beach in state parks. Overall it was a disappointing trip and, given the rangers attitude, we will likely never return. How would you rate this beach for sea glass?: Poor (0-2 jewelry grade pcs. found per hour)
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