American Camp and South Beach, Lime Kiln State Park, Anacortes Community Forest Lands - Mount Erie & Washington Park — Sunday, Mar. 31, 2024

Bottom Line:

Foxes, porpoises, seals, sea lions, eagles, otters, hares and deer, oh my! We put together a set of island trails for perfect spring hiking with lots of flowers and critters, the most unexpected being the "red" foxes that were very active at American Camp. Note that the kits (fox babies) are not out yet (more April/May) and the main prairie on either side of Pickett's Lane is fenced and monitored by National Park rangers to prevent folks from getting too close to the dens (good!). You may have close encounters with foxes while hiking on the bluffs of Cattle Point Rd out towards the lighthouse as well. Park asks that you do not feed the wildlife and give the foxes ample room (pics here are with a zoom lens).

Stats:

• Distance: ~10 miles
• Duration: All day, sunrise to sundown
• Vertical: ~1000 ft
• Weather: Sunshine with high cloud, light wind at times; 60Fs
• Road/Parking: Ample parking on American Camp NP (not sure if a NP pass is required; we displayed ours) and Lime Kiln State Park (Discover Pass required). Parking at the Mt Erie trailhead is limited - only 2 official spots, and then some roadside possibilities. Washington Park has small pullouts, and a larger lot at the main lookout (spectacular!). CAUTION: There was some broken glass on the ground at the Mt Erie trailhead indicating break-in possibilities.
• Trail: 
  • Mt Erie -- ~2-1/2 miles return from the trailhead to the Mt Erie lookout (which one can alternately drive too); the trails are clear but muddy in spots; this hike has a "Little Si" feel, including the rocky outcropping for rock climbers; the view of islands and farmland from the top is beautiful.
  • Washington Park -- What a great park for the Anacortes community! The highlight is the overlook, where one can descend down the grass and flower strewn rocky bluff right to the water; we saw otters and porpoises (about a dozen), swimming "in place" against the strong current in the channel.
  • American Camp NP -- We hiked all over this place, from the bluffs overlooking peaceful little coves, to the prairie and South Beach itself; what a STUNNING park! Views of Mt Baker, Mt Rainier, the Olympic Peninsula, and Vancouver Island. LOTS of wildlife. I would have been more than happy just to spend the whole day here exploring. One can circumnavigate the whole prairie on food, using Pickett's Lane to link the route. LOTS of little flowers.
  • Lime Kiln State Park -- Hiked the main trail out to the lighthouse, and then the ruins of the kilns (see pics); also extended the hike in the conservation areas both south and north of the State Park itself; the madrona trees are amazing here, especially the HUGE ones beyond the State Park boundary in the conversation area to the north (near another kiln ruin); this park is of course a famous spot to whale watch, but that is all about timing (in the past, I have seen a pod of orcas swim by in as little as 10 minutes - not much of a window to catch them!) As it was, we saw sea lions, seals and shore birds (e.g. the Black Oystercatcher below with that striking orange beak). Views of the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island. Trails are in excellent condition. CAUTION near some cliffs on the water.
• Wildlife: Washington Park - porpoises and otters; American Camp - foxes (of all sorts of colors), hares, otters, eagles and deer; Lime Kiln - sea lions, seals, varied shore birds. Late in the afternoon, hundreds of hares emerge from their burrows on American Camp prairie; not sure if the eagles make a go of the fox kits when they emerge from their dens in the coming weeks - that would be a sight to see! The foxes are not native - they were brought in to control the hare population a long time ago. We spent a lot of time watching foxes stake out hare dens, try to break into them, and "mark" everything in sight!
• Takeaway: American Camp NP is a really amazing place with lots of diverse hiking, from the prairie to quiet little coves, the seemingly endless South Beach (all the way out to the Cattle Point Lighthouse), and the amazing views from Mount Finlayson. Abundant wildlife and flowers. There are also historical story boards - e.g. about the "Pig War". This is a hiking destination that has it all!

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://wildflowersearch.org/search?oldstate=gms%3A4%3Bgmc%3A48.40164,-122.64011%3Bbloom%3AIgnore%3Blocation%3AGoose%20Rock,+WA
• https://www.instagram.com/wta_alpinewanderer/