Oyster Dome

Oyster Dome, on Blanchard Mountain above Samish Bay, is not the place to go to find solitude, especially on a sunny April Sunday. The trail is loaded with old folks, youngsters and students from nearby WWU, even though this is a moderately strenuous trail with lots of "up" to it, at least for the first mile. But when you get to the views at Oyster Dome, you'll understand why all those people huffed and grunted to get there.
After soaking in expansive views of the San Juans and the Olympics you can have a more peaceful and secluded hike back down if you make a loop hike by proceding on to Lily Lake, a short one mile from the Dome, then descending by way of the Pacific Northwest Trail. Be sure to save time to watch the hang gliders and parasailers launching off Samish Overlook towards the valley below.
On this day we found over 40 people at Oyster Dome. We had Lily Lake to ourselves for the 30 minutes we were there. Doing the loop only adds about 45 minutes hiking time and is a pleasent, quit trail that is an easier descent than retracing your steps down the Dome trail.