We drove up to Padilla Bay from Seattle and lucked out with some beautiful sunny weather. The trail was gorgeous, and became more heavily populated throughout the day. There are port-a-potties at the beginning of the trail and at the end of the trail, and they are very well maintained. This is a flat trail that goes around the edge of the bay. We didn't see much wildlife beyond seagulls and ducks until we were returning and spotted a Giant Blue Heron. It was spectacular. Lots of families hiking the trail with little children. Highly recommended easy hike.

Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve's Breazeale Interpretive Center is 0.5 miles from Bayview SP. This is a worthwhile stop if you are in the area. We did the 0.8 Upland Trail today in fog so Mt Baker was not in view at the top. This trail begins from behind the interpretive center and passes through meadow and forest habitat. Today sections of the trail had ice, but you could walk around the icy areas.

After setting up camp at Bayview SP, we hiked the 2.25 Padilla Bay Trail starting at the South end. Many hikers and runners were enjoying the beautiful but cold day. It was 3 hours after high tide so most of the birds were in the distance. We saw heron, teal, and eagles.

Eagles, herons and hawks! Oh My, but no snowy owls. We were hoping to get lucky. The tide was way in, so none of the mudflats were exposed. We saw a few female buffleheads, and grebes. Lots of herons, a pair of eagles and a hawk. Small birds were hanging out in the bushes and on seedheads. Snow geese are back on the flats, but were not visible from here. A nice walk along the bay, and good for a bad weather day.

First time I hiked this, started out at 9:30am. Easy level trail that follows sloughs to Padilla Bay. Saw plenty of wildlife and great views. Because of the weather in the higher elevations I have been trying out these type of hikes. I must say that with the wind blowing off the bay and the freezing temperatures and didn't matter if I was at sea level or up in the mountains. A great day for a hike all the same and enjoyed the views and the wildlife. This is a great hike any time of the year.