For April Fools Day, we did two short hikes in the Anacortes area. One of these hikes was at Sharpe Park, located just north of Deception Pass State Park. This park is small but spectacularly situated on a cliff overlooking the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands. There is a dense network of trails that tour the park's forests, wetlands, and rocky bluffs. There is even a "Starbucks Cutoff" trail -yes, it is named after a certain large coffee-pushing corporation, who must have donated some money. A semi-loop route of about 2.5 miles hits all of the best features. Not a long hike to be sure, but it seems longer than it is due to the rich scenery. You'll want to to slow down and spend some time here. The trails are rough in places due to the rocky terrain but seem to be getting maintained, as all blowdowns were cut when we visited the place. The side trip to Sares Head is not to be missed - what a view! We were lucky to enjoy sun and blue skies at this magnificent spot.

A beautiful day for a hike! This park is a gem. Deception Pass was thronged with people as I drove to Fidalgo from Whidbey, but despite being just a couple miles from Deception Pass, I encountered only a few people as I hiked the trails in this park. I was trying for the Sares Head Viewpoint, but from the lower trail I missed the cut off and ended up going around the starbucks connector trail and then I took the bluff shortcut back up to try for Sares Head again.

This time I took the upper trail and made it up to the viewpoint. As a previous person mentioned, the bluff trails are pretty steep up and down, and I was cursing the extra pounds I put on over Christmas. But the viewpoint made it all worth it. I sat on top and caught my breath and enjoyed the rare winter sunshine as I looked out at a spectacular view.

Be careful as you hike, there are a lot of gnarly roots to trip you up. There were a few muddy places on the trails as well. Be sure to print out the map (check previous reports for the link) and take it with you. The trails are fairly well marked, but I did lose my way for awhile, however the map seems to be very accurate with good identifying marks as well.

 Went out on Hike #1 of the new year and due to weather condition and small breaks of sunshine I kept close to home and decided to hike a rather unknown park called Sharpe Park, Montgomery Dubin Headlands on Fidalgo Island not far from Deception Pass State Park which is a well known park. This turned out to be a great hike. I met up with just a few people. All the trails in the park might equal 3 to 5 miles total but the ocean views from the bluff trail are well worth checking out. I must advise that the bluff trail is some what steep going down and along the bluff you must have good balance and common sense about taking too much risk. Falls would be deadly. You will find a small lake covered with ducks and lots of Cedar and Madrone Trees along the cliffs. Trails are well maintained and if this does not give you enough exercise you can head down the road another 5 to 10 minutes to Deception Pass State Park. Check out over 140 other videos of hikes I have done in Washington State or just click on this direct link to this hike http://www.youtube.com/user/lmm3181?feature=mhee. It is safe to click on. As always get out and see this beautiful state and enjoy your hiking.
Take Care
Mike

Being a sunny day, we decided to head to Fidalgo Island for a little hiking. First stop was a quick climb up a short trail at the base of Mount Erie to a bench and view of Lake Erie.

Next we headed to Sharpe Park - Montgomery Duban Headlands trails. We took the outer loop trails with a side trip to Sares Head for a view of the Olympics, Whidbey Island, and San Juan Islands. Though this trail is just over 2 miles according to the sign map, it seems a lot farther since it has considerable elevation change along the bluff, but that makes for a good workout.

At Sares head, we rested a bit while enjoying the views and watching a Bald Eagle soar overhead. We hiked up the hill behind the bench at Sares head to see if the views were better -- no, not really, but we discovered someone had carried up 3 lawn chairs.