Kayak Point County Park, in Stanwood, began as a fertile fishing spot belonging to the Snohomish Indians. The area held so many fish that it sustained three Indian villages. Captain Vancouver was the first European to discover it in 1792.
It was later found again by loggers in the 1850s. They first began clearing the land by hand, then used oxen, and later donkeys and steam trains. By the 1890s, they had devastated the land, leaving nothing but stumps and rutted soil in their wake.
C.D. Hillman
In 1907, a grifter real estate developer named C.D. Hillman came along. He was an orphan who moved west and became a millionaire by buying worthless, vacant land, splitting it up, and selling it in plots. He inflated his profits by ruthlessly advertising the value to clueless new settlers moving west. He was credited with the development of many areas surrounding Seattle, including Green Lake and Mountlake Terrace. His unwitting buyers often bought the land sight unseen and later found that it was already occupied or unlivable.
Hillman bought land on the site now known as Kayak Point in 1907 and split up 12,000 acres into plots to sell to settlers moving west. He planted Himalayan blackberries to hide the destroyed land. He went so far as to build a fake town with a boardwalk, church, school, and stores and staffed them with paid actors from Seattle. He ran extravagant advertisements claiming that the land was always sunny and fertile, with a deep-water port and railroad, great for farmers to cultivate and ship their goods to Seattle. In reality, the port left ships on the soil at low tide, and the railroad was just the old, closed logging rail. The land was not fertile and didn’t get nearly the amount of sunshine promised. He invited prospective buyers to come see the property by free boat rides, with lunch, drinks and fruit from the trees supposedly grown on the property. The produce was actually brought up from Seattle.
Prospective buyers fought each other to get first dibs on the land and were sadly swindled. Hillman went to prison for his hoax, but the settlers were stuck making do with the land they were saddled with.
Heinrich Kilian
A settler from Germany, Heinrich Kilian, and his wife bought waterfront property. They returned every year for summer vacation with their seven children. They eventually bought property from surrounding neighbors and added cabins. The area was renamed Warm Beach, and residents began advertising it as a seaside vacation destination. During this time, summer holidays at the beach were gaining popularity. In the 1920s, prohibition was in effect, and Warm Beach became a major place to run alcohol through Seattle ports. The Kilians enjoyed full bookings all summer for several years, with a bay full of fish and fishermen enjoying record catches.
Kayak Point is Born
Two of Kilian’s sons had become sailors and came back from an expedition to the remote Arctic with two Inuit kayaks from Alaska. They hung the kayaks from the front porch of Kilian’s resort. The kayaks were very popular, and the Kilians named their resort Kayak Point after them.
The Kilians retired in the 1950s and sold their property to a buyer who then sold it again a few years later. This time to the Richfield Oil Company (ARCO). The company had bought up 3,000 acres in the area and was planning on building a refinery and a 1,000-foot commercial dock for oil tankers. This began a big fight between residents who wanted to keep Kayak Point peaceful and clean for the migrating birds and fish. They named the group Save Port Susan. Others hoped for jobs that the oil company would bring. Save Port Susan fought the proposed oil refinery all the way to the Washington State Supreme Court, where Save Port Susan won. The refinery was instead built in Cherry Point.
Kayak Point Becomes a Park
In 1976, Kayak Point Regional Park opened after buying back waterfront land from ARCO. The park is located at the same site as the previous Kayak Point Resort. Heinrich Kilian attended the opening ceremony. Today, the park spans 670 acres and is an important wetland for migrating birds and salmon.
The 3,300-foot sandy beach still brings sunbathers and picnickers 100 years later. Most of the park is still in its natural state, with only 40 acres used for recreation. Campsites, yurts, and cabins can be rented for overnight stays.
The residents’ hard work against the oil refinery is still paying off for residents 70 years later. It is one of the most popular county parks in Snohomish County and is loved for fishing and crabbing off the pier. Kayak Point is also known for windsurfing, hiking, camping, boating, and birdwatching. It contains a beautiful 18-hole disc golf course through the forest and is one of only a few year-round campgrounds.
The park is still a work in progress; the pier and boat launch are under construction until June 30, 2026. The next phase of construction will bring a new entry road, playground, paths, and picnic shelters with parking and better habitats for the local wildlife.
Find information on closures and rentals at Kayak Point in Stanwood here.
