Looking over calm water towards the marina with large building with indigenous art design and tall trees

Blake Island Marine State Park Master Planning

Project summary

Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is undertaking a planning process to develop a Master Plan for the future of Blake Island Marine State Park. 

The Blake Island Master Plan will be created with input from Parks staff, Tribal governments, and the public to guide future investments and management decisions at Blake Island.

The new Master Plan seeks to use input from the public to consider: 

  • A new vision for the park and its future; 

  • The viability of the Tillicum Village Concession Buildings; 

  • Alternatives to Tillicum Village concession and other possible facilities and amenities; 

  • Educational content and exhibits; 

  • A trail reroute on the exterior of the island; 

  • Public transportation to the island 

Community participation

State Parks is conducting public outreach for Stage One - Identify Hopes and Concerns through October 31, 2025. 

You can provide written public comment on Blake Island using the online public comment form.

Share your thoughts about Blake Island by taking our survey

Blake Island Master Plan Phase 1 video

Watch a video overview of the Blake Island Master Plan information that was presented at the Sept. 18 Stage One Public Meeting. 

Stage One Public Meeting: 

When:
Sept. 18, 2025 from 6 - 7:30 p.m.

Where:
Seattle Public Library, Ballard Branch
 

Thank you to those who attended.

Project history

For over forty years, State Parks operated, through concessionaires, the facilities, tours, and experiences known as Tillicum Village at Blake Island. Argosy Tours took over the management of the concession from 2009 to 2021. Since then, marine access has been limited to private boats and there has been no use of the Tillicum Village buildings at the park.

The Master Plan process will create a new vision for the park and facilitate future development and investment. This process includes four stages: 

Stage One - Identify Hopes and Concerns 

The purpose of this stage is to share with the public what we've learned so far through site and facilities evaluations, understand what is important to the park community, and generate ideas of what to explore in Stage Two.  

Stage Two - Exploring Alternative Approaches 

At this stage, the planning team suggests potential alternative approaches to address the various issues and concerns raised by the public in Stage One. No preferred alternative is established; this is an opportunity to understand the range of possibilities.   

Stage Three - Preparing Preliminary Recommendations 

The best ideas from the alternative approaches developed in Stage Two are combined into a preliminary plan in this stage. The plan includes recommendations for use and development and ways to address issues raised during the planning process. Another important document completed at this stage is the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) checklist that describes environmental impacts of the recommendations. The public is encouraged to provide comment on the SEPA checklist at this time.

Stage Four - Preparing Final Recommendations 

At stage four, final adjustments are made to recommendations, and the Master Plan document will be written. Once complete, the final plan will be submitted to the seven-member Parks and Recreation Commission for approval. We anticipate the final Master Plan going to the Commission in 2026. 

Documents

Contact Us

Name Alexandra Sullivan
Department Parks Planner
Phone (360) 902-8844
Email planning@parks.wa.gov
Address PO Box 42650 Olympia , WA 98504