Squaxin Island is in the extreme southwestern part of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

Mason County, Washington Mason County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 65,726. The county seat and only incorporated city is Shelton, Wa ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The island is an

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

of the Native American Squaxin Island Tribe. The island's land area is . There was no resident population as of the 2000 census. Squaxin Island is separated from Harstine Island to the east by Peale Passage. The island's name comes from the Lushootseed place–name sqʷax̌səd.

Squaxin Island State Park

The island was formerly home to a Washington state park by the same name, opened in 1965. The park was accessed by tidelands leased for 25 years from the Squaxin Island Tribe. In 1993, negotiations between the tribe and state to renew the lease ended unsuccessfully, cutting off public access. The park was closed, and its land sold back to the tribe in 2015.

Derelict vessel removal

Squaxin Island is located at a key point in a hydrological corridor, leading to the accumulation of numerous abandoned and derelict vessels on its shores over decades. Since 2002, Washington State has implemented a boat removal program to address this issue, successfully removing over 1,200 derelict vessels from the island. As of June 2025, approximately 300 vessels remain. To tackle particularly challenging cases, the state employed a firefighting helicopter to transport 14 vessels from the island to the mainland, demonstrating significant efforts to mitigate environmental and navigational hazards caused by the abandoned boats.

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Squaxin Island: Block 1088, Census Tract 9611, Mason County, Washington
United States Census Bureau Landforms of Mason County, Washington Uninhabited islands of Washington (state) Islands of Puget Sound Islands of Washington (state) Washington (state) placenames of Native American origin {{MasonCountyWA-geo-stub

Squaxin Island State Park

Derelict vessel removal

See also

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