The Rotary Viewpoint at Cap Sante is nearing completion. A public dedication ceremony for the Anacortes Rotary Club’s Centennial Legacy Gift to the community is scheduled for April 16 at the viewpoint. Anacortes Rotary and the Anacortes Parks and Recreation Department have worked together for more than five years to build a viewing platform at the top of Cap Sante that is accessible, scenic, safe and welcoming. The new Rotary Viewpoint checks all those boxes, providing better access for all and creating a welcoming, more spacious area offering new opportunities for reflection, rejuvenation and appreciation of nature.

The vision has been realized thanks to club members’ steadfast efforts and generous financial support from the club and the community. Viewpoint construction is expected to cost about $380,000. Strandberg Construction, low bidder on the project, expects to finish its work soon. Pre-construction efforts included a critical area study and a traffic/parking study.

Post-construction additions will include interpretive signs and other visitor amenities at an added cost of about $25,000.

The viewpoint is the crowning achievement in the club’s most recent efforts to improve Cap Sante Park. In 2022, 100 years after the club was formed, Rotary and the city completed upgrades to the Rotary Viewpoint Trail, including an enhanced trail entry, new interpretive kiosk signs, directional signposts and improved walking connections from the trailhead near the Anacortes Yacht Club to the summit.

The trail project was an important first step, creating a way for people to park at the base and walk to the top of Cap Sante, reducing traffic at the summit.

The new Rotary Viewpoint was built over a rocky slope adjacent to the eastern edge of the existing parking lot. It is about 85 feet in length and extends out from the parking lot about 35 feet at the widest point. The viewpoint has a concrete block retaining wall from 2 to 8 feet tall to accommodate the slope. The wall will be topped with steel guardrails.

The ADA accessible, two-tiered platform has ramps and seating. Ramps are 6 feet or wider to accommodate two wheelchairs passing. There is one adjacent ADA parking space. There are three entry points and about 40 feet of two-sided bench seating. (No picnic tables.)

The viewpoint is not visible from downtown Anacortes. Blackberry bushes and a few dozen native shrub were removed. The shrubs will be replaced 2-for-1 in other areas. No live trees were cut down.

The Rotary Viewpoint and the Rotary Viewpoint Trail are a continuation of Anacortes Rotary’s Community Service work that stretches back just over a century. Since its founding in 1922, Anacortes Rotary has taken on projects and funded worthy causes to better the community, everything from Youth Employment and Early Literacy programs to support for the Anacortes Family Center, Fidalgo Pool, the Anacortes Boys & Girls Club and many others.

Park improvements at Cap Sante go back decades. The club established and improved Rotary Park along Cap Sante’s western shore and supports the Rotary Park Disc Golf Course.

Today, Anacortes Rotary is an active and growing service club of more than 70 men and women who meet weekly and work to better the community year-round, guided by Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self. With the generous support of the community, it is able to contribute about $100,000 a year in local projects and programs.