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Pacific Rim Institute

97%

· Coupeville, Island, Washington

175 acres hosted by Julie C.

1 lodging site

Staff verified

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This land has passed through many families but was first "managed" by Salish Indians who burned the prairie and harvested native plants for food, medicine, clothing, charms and more for 10,000 years. When European settlers arrived in the 1850s, burning the prairie all but ceased and that, along with the introduction of many new exotic species of animals, crop plants and weeds, began the degradation of the landscape. Over time our site was used to graze sheep and then raise pheasants (from 1944-1999). It was slated for housing development but several citizens rose up and prevented that from happening. Now the Pacific Rim Institute, a private nonprofit organization is the steward of this precious jewel of central Whidbey and the Pacific Northwest. We have a five-acre remnant prairie with over 80 species of native plants - critical to the restoration of degraded lands throughout the Salish Sea region. We have over two miles of walking trails for you. They traverse our prairie, savannas and forests. The land is full of color when the native wildflowers bloom from early spring through early autumn. We have a Native Plant Center where we grow up to 50 species of rare native plants. Ask us for a tour.Your cabin is 12'x12' and was a former brooder house for day-old pheasant chicks when this site served as a game farm for the state of Washington. One small window and one large sliding window, one door, two large expedition cots for placing mat and sleeping bag. No electricity, but free wireless internet access. You will have privacy on the south side of the cabin looking out over the prairie, with a fire pit (for use when no fire ban). While we have many of these brooder houses on site, only one is used for Hipcamp, so you won't have any neighbors. We do work on site, and may occasionally drive by the cabin on the north side during weekdays. When you enter the property by our sign on Parker Road, go east for ~80 yards and turn right between the two buildings. The shower and bathroom doors are on the building on your right. Take an immediate left, and drive out to the rows of brooder houses. You can park one vehicle between the third and fourth unit on the right. Your Hipcamp Cabin is the fourth one on the right. The keys for the cabin and shower/bathroom are inside on the door and you'll find maps of our trails and property inside the cabin. Bring personal sleeping gear, towels, etc. If you forget anything, we'll do our best to help you out - towels, matches, or perhaps an extra heater in the winter, etc. You will be on a 2.5 mile trail system on our 175-acre property connecting you to our prairie, Garry oak savanna and forests. Ask early on if you'd like a short tour of our prairie/savanna or our Native Plant Center where we grow dozens of species of rare native plants year-round. We are close by bike or car to a larger trail system in Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve. We are two miles east of Coupeville on Whidbey Island - small grocery store, restaurants, beach access. Whidbey is still a laid back, slow-paced area. We are near the Navy's Outlying Field where their jets occasionally do "touch and go" landings. You can search the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island website for information on the days and times they will be flying.

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97%

138 ratings · 113 reviews

Oliver N.doesn't recommend

June 23, 2024

Olympic View Cabin

Dm sent

Melanie S.recommends

April 14, 2024

Olympic View Cabin

Delightful stay. We woke to birdsong in the savanna and spent the morning birdwatching.

Monica G.recommends

August 13, 2023

Olympic View Cabin

My kind of camping!

We loved staying in the former pheasant brooding coop! Perfect glamping as far as I was concerned. Robert provides very comfortable cots with pads and the room has a dresser. We brought our headlamps and one lantern. Easy walk to the clean bathroom and shower room. The stars are beautiful at night and yes, the first night the jets flew over and they are loud. But they are also fun to watch and they were not practicing that long. Robert is available if you need anything. Such a great stay!

Carolyn M.recommends

July 31, 2023

Olympic View Cabin

Perfect Upland Base for Adventures

This was my second visit to Robert’s HipCamp. It’s a great spot to base my Whidbey Island adventures from! Clean, simple, great shower/bathroom facilities. I spent some time walking the prairie and woods on the property — so peaceful!

Teresa F.recommends

July 30, 2023

Olympic View Cabin

This place was great. Beautiful landscape, so extremely peaceful.

Ellen R.recommends

July 24, 2023

Olympic View Cabin

Many thumbs up from T591

Robert and all the staff at Pacific Rim were wonderful, welcoming hosts. We were there as a BSA scouting group of 12, two moms rented the cabin (comfortable and more than enough room for us). Scoutmaster and scouts were permitted to set up tents, and part of our trip to Whidbey was spent doing service hours on the property. The boys learned a lot, we had enough picnic tables and space to spread out to cook our meals, and it was a great central location for the rest of our adventures on the island. It was great being the only ones camping there, we didn't disturb anyone else when we came back very late from a bioluminescence kayaking trip in Langley. The bathroom and shower were very clean, and we enjoyed looking at the exhibits in the main building when it was open. (We couldn't leave without purchasing honey and some plants to take home!) The staff warned us about possible jet noise, but other than a helicopter or two flyby during our service hours we didn't see/weren't bothered by any aircraft noise. Such beautiful open sky views in all directions over the prairie, it was perfect for stargazing: some of the boys left the rain flys off their tents to fall asleep staring at the stars. I'll certainly keep this site on my short list for a future Troop outing to Whidbey, especially if it's for a dedicated Astronomy night. Thank you Robert, Mosa, George and the rest of the staff!

Location

Coupeville, Island, Washington, United StatesTraditional, ancestral territory of Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, sqaǰətabš (Upper Skagit), and dxʷlilap (Tulalip) First Nations according to To respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking