Coupeville is my favorite town on Whidbey Island. You can find it perched right on Penn Cove, famous for its world-renown mussels. The town has a charming main street with colorful shops. Coupeville is a part of the Ebey’s Landing historical reserve that includes lots of farmland and businesses as well as a historic beachfront area.
Top Spots in Coupeville WA
Knead & Feed is a beautiful, local bakery with huge cinnamon rolls, overlooking the waterfront on the main street of downtown Coupeville. The wharf is a fun long boardwalk out onto the water to a big red Coupeville barn-like building with Salty Mug coffee out on the end of the pier. Lavender Wind Farm has a store downtown that sells all their amazing lavender products. Their chapstick is my favorite. Christopher’s is a famous restaurant with Penn Cove mussels or if you are looking for a locals haunt, then check out Toby’s Tavern. It’s an eccentric local hot spot for drinks and burgers overlooking the water. There are several cute boutiques to shop at on the main street, one being a Touch of Dutch, a cute dutch filled store with food, candy, clogs, and all kinds of dutch accessories.
Read my top 10 things to do Whidbey Island here.
How to get there
Coupeville sits on Penn Cove as a part of Ebey’s Landing Historical National Reserve and is about 20 minutes south of Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. Coupeville is off of the 20 coming from the north and south at Broadway or Main Street.
Things To Do in Coupeville
Coupeville Pier Walk
There is a mini free library on the side of the pier that you can check out for a new book. This cute, little sleepy cove town is the best place to spend an afternoon on Whidbey Island. It is my favorite of the charming towns on the island and yet is one of the smallest downtown stretches. The historic downtown is a short street with only a dozen or so businesses centered around the Coupeville pier. Walking on the pier gives you a beautiful view of Penn Cove, famous for its mussels.
Salty Mug Coffee on the Pier
This is the coffee spot out on the end of the pier with great views of the island. It’s a great spot to watch the boats, and they have great indoor and outdoor seating. By no means is this a craft coffee joint, but it is a cool location and one of the only spots to get coffee in Coupeville.
Hours
8am-2pm daily, closed Tuesdays
Price
$
Knead & Feed Bakery on the water
This is a well-known bakery overlooking the waterfront on the downtown strip. The bakery is filled with large windows producing amazing light and fresh flowers on every table. They are known for their large cinammon rolls that are very doughy and gooey. They serve coffee, tea, and other baked goods. This is a nice spot to come in Coupeville. The small family run business has been serving desserts, lunch, and breakfast since the 40’s. They are also known for their clam chowder and bread. See their full menu and information here.
Hours
9am-3pm daily , Saturday and Sunday open at 8am
Price
$
Lavendar Wind Farm & Store
This lavender farm is one of my favorite spots in Coupeville. Lavender Wind Farm is the cutest lavender farm sitting on a hill in Coupeville overlooking the sound. The views of the island and the water are gorgeous from their farm. There are views of the Olympic mountains and the straight of Juan De Fuca over sweeping rows of lavender to the water.
This farm is one of the historical farms included in Ebey’s Landing. The farm is 5 acres and an additional 3 acres has been bought to grow more lavender. They have 17 different types of lavender growing, and it blooms in the summer during June-July. They also have drying rooms for the lavender that you can walk. Their store has great lavender products. I love their chapstick, as well as their lotions, salves and room sprays. I love this place and go every time I am on the island. The best time to visit is in summer when the lavender is in bloom. They have another store in Coupeville downtown where you can get their products without going out to their farm. Their hours are 10am-5pm daily. Their website, products and lavender watch for budding is here!
Eat Muscles at Christopher’s
This is one of the most well-known restaurants on the island and is known for their Penn Cove muscles. They are a bistro that serves Pacific Northwest cuisine, beer, and local wines. They are located close to Coupeville Pier on Penn Cove. They are known for their seafood, clams, muscles, fresh bread, and chowder. This is a top rated restaurant on Trip Advisor on the island.
Hours
11:30am-8pm daily, closed Tuesdays
Price
$5-$25
Have a Drink at Toby’s Tavern
Toby’s Tavern is a locals spot that is packed with a crowd after work with families and friends catching up on life. Everyone in this place knows each other, and it is an eclectically decorated spot sitting with a great view of the cove. This spot is known for its burgers, fish and chips, mussels, and chowder. The burgers are a bit too blackened for my taste, but it’s a fun environment for dinner and drinks.
Hours
11am-9pm daily
Price
$5-$20
Coupeville Boutiques
The main street has a bunch of interesting eclectic shops, including Touch of Dutch, a Dutch apparel and food store that sells clogs, different cheeses, and Dutch candy. The Crow’s Roost is a cool boutique behind A Touch of Dutch. This is a great artistic and eclectic shop with jewelry, home wares, scarves and much more. There is Penn Cove Gallery which is a great spot to peruse local artists work. Don’t miss Kapaw’s Iskreme, a cute yellow old fashioned building with a huge ice cream sign.
Aqua Gifts is a boutique next to Knead and Feed bakery that sells all kinds of sea type decoration, shells, and home wares that are earthy and ocean related. Back to the island is another souvenir shop that sells local Whidbey shirts and apparel about Whidbey. Finally, you can check out Kingfisher, the local bookstore, on the main street that has an amazing selection of reads as well as interesting coffee table type books. There is an old fashioned candy store with huge jaw breakers in jars and all kinds of other interesting candies as well as amazing unique cards in this store.
Fort Ebey overlook & Ebey’s Landing beach & hikes
This is one of the coolest overlooks on the island. It is a killer place to watch the sunset or sunrise and has amazing trails for hiking, running, and a huge beautiful forested campground area. There is the bluff trail that starts down at the beach and heads up along the cliffside. The top of the park is also accessible by car. It a fun place to explore because they have old school bunkers from its days as a military fort.
