Cypress Island is the last largely undeveloped island in the San Juan group. Cypress Island provides a scenic reminder to passers-by of a rustic, pre-settlement western Washington. On the 5,500 acre island, DNR manages 4,800 acres, with 3,933 acres of forests, wetlands, grassy balds and marine areas currently protected under NRCA designation. 

The southern two-thirds of the island is the only protected low-elevation forest growing on serpentine soils in Washington, and supports unusual plant communities. The island's steep topography offers vistas of the San Juan Islands, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, mainland Washington and the Olympic and Cascade mountains. Cypress is a popular site for boaters offering primitive camping, lakes and miles of trails and abandoned roads. 

The submerged marine lands and beaches surrounding Cypress Island are a State Aquatic Reserve. 

We developed a comprehensive management plan for both the island natural area and the aquatic reserve around it. Cypress Island Comprehensive Management Plan (12,349KB PDF).

(Skagit County)