Hiking experience: Fantastic! Pretty short hike with great views of Orcas and surrounding islands! We were out on a semi-cloudy day and it was still awesome. There are also lots of benches if you want to take your time to sit and admire the Sound and the San Juans. Also lots of birds and flora and fauna. Trail’s in good condition excepting a few (brief) overgrown parts. When we were out, this was a very quiet trail, only saw a few other people. This trail was also great for trying out my new trekking poles! Some varied (and steep!) terrain, for which I do recommend poles for if they’re your thing. We did this hike counter-clockwise, which worked for us. You finish in a more forested, shady part that way.
What else to know: As other trip reports have said, this trail is quite exposed so plan accordingly with good water supply, and perhaps a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc.
Parking: We came straight here after disembarking from the mid-morning ferry and found plenty of parking but the lot was full by the time we finished. It has room for maybe a dozen cars or so.
Directions: Use WTA’s directions to this trailhead, which are correct. Google was ready to lead us astray (to a different part of the preserve much further from this hike) and I’m glad I screenshotted the WTA guide, as I lost phone service right around the time we needed non-Google directions. Thanks for your service, WTA! I don’t know what we’d do without you!
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