Lime Kiln State Park - Olivia Michelle

Lime Kiln State Park is a must do during your time on San Juan Islands. The views are breathtaking, the tide pools are full of sea life, and the lighthouse is a dream. Read all about what to expect on your trip to Lime Kiln State Park, what pass you need, and the trails we did.

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Lime Kiln State Park
Discover Pass Required
Dog Friendly
Early bird gets the worm here. We arrived around 9 am for low tide so we could check out the tide pools. By the time we left around noon the parking lot was packed. You will need a Discover Pass which is available at the park (pay machines in the parking lot) or online. You can purchase a day pass for $10 or buy the year pass for $30.
For more info about Lime Kiln State Park, click HERE.
For more info about the Discover Pass, click HERE.

The park has restrooms, picnic tables, and trash cans near the parking lot. It is also full of the pretty madrone tress. These trees have a rainbow colored bark and are only found in the Pacific Northwest. Read more about the madrone trees HERE.

This state park is most famous for the whale watching sites. The best time to see whales is May through October. We did not see any when we visited but we did not sit and watch for a while either.

The specific trail we did was the Lime Kiln State Park Trail and the Whale Watch Site Trail. These are less than a mile together and are more like a walk than a hike so its easy for everyone. Follow the signs for the Whale Watch Site and then we took the coast trail over to the lighthouse. You really don’t need a map or anything.

The whale watching site is a beautiful overlook where you can see for miles of the ocean. They also have info on which types of whales are possible to see here.

The whale watch site also has some picnic tables with a gorgeous lookout.

We walked down the rocks to check out the tide pools here. You’ll need to visit at low tide to access them. To view low tide time tables for Lime Kiln State Park, click HERE.