Trip Reports

I parked at the beach at Fort Ebey State Park and took the bluff trail towards the old military fort. The official Pacific Northwest Trail goes past Fort Ebey State Park along the beach. However, I've hiked the beach trail and in my personal opinion, the beach area just below the Point Partridge Lighthouse is brutal with the rocks and should only be done at low tide. The bluff trail is a nice alternative route if the tides are wrong or you just want a little easier walk than the rocky beach. Plus the views are stellar!

The bluff trail was nice with many beautiful views of the ocean. I continued past the fort down the trail to where the group camping site is. There were no campers there so I hopped the little wooden fence and cut through the site. You could also detour around this group area along the trail. Interestingly, on the information board at the group site it had an old map (1999) that showed what used to be a route down to the beach along Cedar Hollow Trail. This route washed out around 2006 but an occasional intrepid PNT thru hiker will scramble down where that trail used to be.

From there I continued onto Cedar Hollow Trail and passed the old DNR camping area. There are still a couple outhouses and some flat spaces for tents. No water is available there, although you could get some back at the group camping site. Continuing on down into a saddle is another great ocean view. A wooden fence and sign warns to keep off, but when you look over the edge you can see pink flags mark the steep scramble down to the beach.

If that route looks too sketchy to you (it did to me!)or the tides are high, there is another alternate route. Continue on up the Cedar Grove Trail and after ascending it will then begin to drop down. When you see the little ceramic ghost sitting in a tree, look for an unsigned short cut on the right side of the trail. There is a little rock cairn by a tree trunk and a pink flag. Take that trail and it passes under some electric lines and connects in with Kettles Trail. Kettles Trail goes out towards highway 20 and eventually begins to parallel highway 20.

When you get to Sherman Road turn right and walk a half mile until you go past Sunnyside Cemetery. Follow the Jacob Ebey House Bluff Trail past the old log stockhouse and the recently restored historic Jacob Ebey house, out to Ebey's Landing. From there you can continue on down to the beach to resume your beach walk on the PNT.

I actually turned around when I got to Kettles trail and returned to my car, where I drove to Sunnyside Cemetery, parked, and took the Jacob Ebey House Bluff Trail out to the ocean. It was a nice hike on an unexpectedly beautiful day.

Today was a great day for a fall hike so we headed to the Island. We parked down at the Gun Battery and did some exploring around that first. From there we chose to hike the Bluff Trail to Lake Pondilla. It's a little over a mile, one direction. There is a bit of elevation gain and loss, but nothing that even small children couldn't handle.

The trail was in great shape, no muddy spots at all. It was slick in few spots due to the freezing temps last night and sometimes thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground. There are a few spots along the trail that have some steep dropoffs, so keep the little ones close at hand.

To see more of our hike go to: http://1retromama.blogspot.[…]te-park-whidbey-island.html

  Weather was not looking good for this weekened so I waited until Saturday morning to decide if I would hike. There was sunshine over Whidbey Island around 11:00 am so I was off on my hike #41 to Fort Ebey State Park to hike the bluff trail.
  Upon arriving at the park I found large fields of hail that I first thought was snow when I pulled in to the parking lot. It was still quite cold but no rain or hail just some great sunshine but it was short lived by about two hours. I was able to hike the whole bluff trail, some of the beach and also out to Lake Pondilla .
 I saw some Bald Eagles flying around but did not get any good pictures of them. I saw a boy scout troop doing some community service in the park which was nice. I was suprised at the number of people still camping with the weather the last week but I guess in this state you can't be detered by weather or your never get outside.
  All and all a nice couple of hours for a hike that was about 4 miles in length including the trail out to Lake Pondilla. Even the smallest of hikes is worth getting outside and enjoying myself while leaving any stress behind. Checkout the videos of this hike or over 235 other hikes I have done in Washington State on my youtube channel at lmm3181 or click on these direct links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpaUAF8CtKM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEMWlyn63v4
As always get out and enjoy this beautiful state and enjoy your hiking.
Take Care
Mike

Gorgeous day for a little walk in the woods, perfect conditions for great fall pictures. There i was with my two year old daughter and our miniature dachshund when a huge bird landed on a nearby tree branch, almost above our heads and stared at my dog like there was a bunny next to me. I grabbed the camera, took a few shots and backed off because it felt liek the bird was going to attack my dog any minute. I have never seen wild life this close and i have to say it was a pretty amazing sight.

My wife and I hiked the Fort Ebey loop: Up and along the bluff from the parking area at the beach and down and along the beach back to the parking lot.

There was filtered sunshine and a mild breeze, which was good for hiking. As usual, there were many hikers, even on a Monday morning.

We saw many birds, including an eagle and red-winged blackbirds.

The wildflower extravaganza has yet to begin. There are a few flowers on display, but the vetch and the lupine have yet to bloom.

The trail is easy and in great condition.

   The bluff trail has views of the Olympics, birds soaring at eye level, and the waves breaking below. The trails wandering through the kettles are quiet woodland walks. Hokey Ka Dodo (the name of this trail is enough to set your feet wandering just to see where it leads ) Cactus along the trial down to the beach..... these will be a lovely garden when they are in bloom.

We followed the signs to the gun battery and parked in that lot.

After exploring the old battery (bring a flashlight) we took up the Bluff trail. The trail was well maintained and relatively free of rocks and tree roots, although footing may still be an issue for those with small children. It follows along the water, sometimes you can see it, other times you can't. There are some nice viewpoints along the way but take care with small children as there are some serious dropoffs along the trail. You'll want to keep them close at hand. The trail is about 1 mile from the gun battery to the Cascadia Marine Trail campsite. At the campsite, there is a path down to the beach. We spent a little time exploring the beach and headed back up.

There is a parking lot, toilets, and picnic area close by the Cascadia campsite area. From there, we decided to take the short trail to Lake Pondilla. After our brief pause at the lake we got on the Bluff trail and headed back to the gun battery and parking lot.

We experienced our first, first aid "emergency" on this hike. My son must have touched his hands on something and then touched his face because his cheeks turned fiery red and then broke out in hives. In our first aid kit I carry anti-itch cream with diphenhydramine so I put that on him. Once we got back to the gun battery I had him wash his hands and face at the drinking fountain there and reapplied the cream. Whatever it was, it responded well to the cream. Doctor's visit avoided, yeah!

This is a great hike for the whole family. Even more fun with the gun battery to explore. This state park is filled with hiking (and some biking) trails so we will be heading back in the future.

To see more of our trip visit http://1retromama.blogspot.[…]te-park-whidbey-island.html .

Pulled into one of the parking spots at the north end of the park sometime after 3pm.

Followed the bluff trail past a machine gun nest to the "gun battery". The bluff trail was in perfect condition. Having a flashlight was useful for exploring the gun battery bunker. Had a look at the fire control bunker in front, and headed back.

Before leaving we did a quick loop to Lake Pondilla, and went down to the beach just below the parking area.

Quite a few people in the area, but no crowds.

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/[…]/FortEbeyStateParkOctober2011
Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/121895473

Went for a hike on this gorgeous day along Fort Ebey State Park Bluff Trail. This is hike 9 of 50 planned at age 50 this year. Fort Ebey is located on Whidbey Island, Washington. This is normally a great place to find Bald Eagles flying around or perched in a tree. This is about a three mile round trip trail. There is some ups and downs along this trail and great views of the Whidbey Island Coast, Olympic Mountains and Pudget Sound. There is camping all year round so coming up for a weekend would allow you a better chance of seeing this park. There is lots of beach to walk on to search for sea shells and smooth rocks and to possible get a glimpse of crusise ships sailing by as well as eagles, seals, and whales. Mountain biking, camping, fishing and hiking. A great get away from the city in a country setting. You can see my videos of my hikes on youtube at lmm3181. Check them out. Here is a video link to Fort Ebey. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQFXRvVYMb8

Enjoy
Mike

My wife and I enjoyed the Bluff Trail, the Gun Battery, and the great weather. We watched a juvenile eagle, a tanker and a barge-towing tug boat in the strait, and enjoyed the blooms and blossoms providing reassurance of spring. The trail is in great condition. The weather change brought out many hikers and one biker who said he was unaware that the Bluff Trail does not allow biking.

We had camped at the park Friday and Saturday nights so hiked part of their trail system before heading home. There was light rain and strong winds. There are 3 miles of hiking trails some of which connect to the adjoining Kettles Co. Park trails. One can hike the beach 2.2 miles south to Ebey's Landing. We did the Bluff trail and hiked to Lake Pondilla.