Talk about an under-rated hike. This one doesn't seem to get as much attention on WTA, possibly because it's a bit out of the way and doesn't sound too challenging. Yes it's very easy, but what it lacks in cardio it more than makes up in stellar views. Starting from the lot next to Sunnyside Cemetery it's a roughly 5.2 mile loop with 360 feet of cumulative elevation gain, but you can easily extend it by venturing further up or down the beach, or even doing the loop twice! As pretty as it was I was sorely tempted to do the latter, but I was too pressed for time. But on to the details...

I reached the lot next to Sunnyside Cemetery at 10am, and of course the weather today could hardly have been any better. Some high clouds and haze to the south, making Rainier hard to see, but otherwise the temps were in the upper 50s with a gentle breeze so there was little else to complain about. The trail was dry and firmly packed, and from the very beginning the views were terrific. First there were the colorful farms down below and the Ebey family house to see. Once I reached the bluff I decided to go counterclockwise and do the bluff first, which I am glad I did. From there I didn't break much of a sweat because I was stopping to take pictures so often. After a little under two miles the trail switchbacks its way back down to the beach, and from there it's a gentle walk along the sand and pebbles south to the Ebey’s Landing parking lot, then a modest climb back to the bluff junction.

While this is a great one for kids, it's important to keep them close so that they don't wander too close to the bluff's edge. Also the bluff trail is very narrow in places, making it problematic to pass people at times and possibly not a good idea to have a dog in tow. There was a fair number of other hikers there, as well as a few dogs, but fortunately everyone was spaced out enough for some solitude. Unfortunately I didn't see much in the way of wildlife aside from aquatic birds, but the spring flowers are definitely popping out which was a fair tradeoff.

The loop can be done in about two hours, but with all the goofing off I did I wasn't back to my car until 12:30pm. I left the side trails and rest of the beach for future exploration. On the way back I briefly checked out the town of Coupeville, which added about an hour to my stay.

What Eric Katanaboy said in the previous trip report! Except we were there on Wednesday and the sun came out for us. Tall Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) blooming profusely and patches of spring gold lomatium (Lomatium utriculatum). Also lots of non-native flowers, especially purple deadnettle (Lamium maculatum). Shout out to the Island County staff wading through the prickly wild roses to spray noxious weeds!

We started at the Prairie Overlook trailhead by the cemetery at 9 a.m. on a Monday, and had the trail mostly to ourselves.  The day was partly cloudy and breezy.  Lots of redwing blackbirds along the Ridge Trail, and many eagles and ravens along the Bluff Trail.  When we dropped down to the beach, we took a detour and turned right to walk north up the beach for a mile before turning around.  The tide was way out, and the beach was easy walking.

Heading south on the beach, we saw killdeer and whimbrels, common loons, harlequin ducks, surf scoters, and of course plenty of glaucous-winged gulls.

The loop was 7 miles total.

Great day hike/walk.  Epic views of the Olympics to the west the whole time.  You'll want to park at the Prairie Lookout, next to Sunnyside Cemetery for the full experience.  This hike is rich with history too!  You can check out our hike here on YouTube. 

We are camped at Bayview SP and on on this cloudy day predicted to have rain we drove to Whidbey Island hoping to find some sunshine and dry time! We had a mix of sun and light rain on our drive to the Prairie Overlook TH which we accessed from  the larger parking lot near Sunnyside Cemetery. There are 2 well-stocked and clean vault toilets here. A light rain stopped and the sun came out as we began our meander. The trail takes you past the Jacob Ebey house and blockhouse as you cross the prairie to a T-junction where left takes you to the beach and right takes you up a short steep trail to the start of of a steeper long trail that takes you along the bluff. We returned to the parking lot at the beginning of the next steeper section as we were not sure our energy level would allow us to continue. Mt. Baker and the Olympics were not seen today, but the sun was warm and blue skies and their clouds provided a beautiful meander! Signs of spring were seen in blooming common daisies, Filaree, field mustard and dead nettle. Several red-winged blackbirds were seen and heard! As we neared the parking area, dark clouds returned with light rain starting shortly after our return to our van.