Samish Island Campground and Retreat Center
11633 Scott RoadBow (Samish Island), WA 98232
We rent a wonderful church camp on Samish Island in the Samish River delta of Skagit County (roughly 90 minutes north of Seattle, 40 minutes south of Bellingham and 2 hours south of Vancouver, BC). Samish Island is connected by road to the mainland (no bridge or ferry is needed). Our hosts, the Community of Christ, offer their beautiful land and facilities to us at very reasonable cost as part of their mission to promote and support community.
Samish Island Campground & Retreat Center is part of the traditional grounds of the Samish Indian Nation. The 87 acres include open space, forested areas, and beaches, offering a unique and serene environment for retreats.
The Samish people have inhabited the San Juan Islands for many thousands of years. Samish Island Campground has a long and positive relationship with the Samish Indian Nation and are honored to be involved with the preservation and protection of the burial site of Chief Harry Samish.
Transportation
Please note that no public transportation is available all the way to Samish Island. If you need a ride or want to help others with transportation, please contact us to arrange a potential carpool.
Flying to Western Washington for an event at Samish Island? We recommend using Seatac Airport. Take the Bellair Airporter Shuttle from Seatac to Burlington, then order an Uber/Lyft for a 20-minute ride to Samish Island.
Food
The wonderful and hardworking cooks at Samish always make delicious and nutritious meals for us to enjoy. They can always accommodate gluten free, dairy-free, nut-free and vegetarian diets. If your dietary needs require bringing your own food, fridge space is available, as is a microwave and hot water.
Accommodations
Samish Island offers Rustic Cabins (walk to the community bath hall), E-Cabins (newer construction, shared bathroom), and Tent or RV camping. With over 50 rustic cabins, every participant who chooses this option gets a cabin to themselves. Cabins can be double occupancy for couples upon request. E-cabins come four to a building, and are also booked single occupancy unless pairs request double occupancy. Each room shares a private bathroom with another room. For both kinds of cabins, you must bring your own bedding (pillows, sheets, blankets or sleeping bags).
Samish Island “Campground” does not require camping. There are two types of cabins: rustic cabins, which are simple plywood cabins built in the 1950’s – they have heat, beds, and share campground bathroom buildings; and e-cabins, which are modern motel-level buildings where two units share a bathroom.
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- Cabins at Samish Island Camp
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- Outside of the e-cabins
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- Interior of the e-cabins
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- Interior of the e-cabins
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- Front door of the rustic cabins
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- Interior of the rustic cabins
The 40 rustic cabins are quieter and simpler but one must walk across the lawn to the bathrooms.
The 16 e-cabins are lighter, more modern, and share a bathroom. There can be more noise in e-cabins due to the sharing of the bathroom and we ask e-cabin residents to be very careful of the noise from doors and bathroom fixtures so as not to disturb their neighbor.
A surcharge is required for lodging in the more modern e-cabins.
Consider helping us make e-cabins available to more people by requesting double occupancy. We will do our best to match you with a compatible roommate and to honor requests for roommates if you are coming to retreat with a friend.
During the registration process, you may request one of these options: rustic, e-cabin with double occupancy, e-cabin with single occupancy, or RV or camping.
Emergency Contact
360-830-6439 x701 – Please provide this number (a special extension at Mindfulness Northwest) to your family so you can unplug while at Samish. We will convey emergency messages to you at retreat.
Our programs originate in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, home to the Coast Salish people since time immemorial. We humbly acknowledge that we are here as a result of colonialism. We are grateful to the Lhaq’te’mish (Lummi Nation), Nuxwsá7aq (Nooksack), Dxʷdəwʔabš (Duwamish), and our other native neighbors for their ongoing leadership and advocacy on behalf of our common home.
