Deception Pass State Park is slated to grow by 78 acres early next year.

The most popular park in the state purchased a parcel of land on the Fidalgo side near the Pass Lake loop, encompassing Mount High-G, the third highest point on the island.

Park Manager Jason Armstrong said the purchase will close at the end of January 2023. The park made the purchase with a grant of over $1 million from the state Recreation and Conservation Office.

Trails could be in the property’s future, but Armstrong said it is impossible to finalize plans for the parcel before officially classifying the land. There will be a public input process to determine the public’s will for the land, Armstrong said, but due to permitting and other requirements, development of trails or other potential facilities is still years off.

The park partnered with the Skagit Land Trust on the purchase. Land Trust Director Molly Doran said the land has been partially logged and contains young forest and open, rocky spaces. Protecting the property from continued deforestation and development will have significant ecological benefits for the park, such as adding some diversity to a corridor of protected lands through the island and preserving habitats for animals and plants.

“It’s an important part of that ecological connection,” Doran said.

Armstrong added that the purchase will protect the viewshed from North Beach.

The Whidbey Camano Land Trust endorsed the purchase and wrote a letter to the state Parks and Recreation Commission voicing its support for the project.

“This is truly a one-time chance to protect this critical property for future generations,” wrote then-Executive Director Pat Powell.