We had a fantastic hike to Ebey’s Landing today. Incredible views, wild flowers galore, aqua blue waters out to the Strait of Juan de Luca and amazing friends.  This is an annual trek for my hiking group.  We drove straight up and on to the 9:00AM Mukilteo / Clinton ferry.  That gave us the whole day to explore south Whidbey Island.  It was 10:10 when we pulled up to the Ebey’s Landing historic site and only 4 cars were parked there.  The vault toilet was one of the fanciest I have ever seen and it was spotless. It was 50 degrees with mostly clear blue skies.   Recent rains made the entire trail compact hard soil all the way down the switchbacks to to beach.  There were only a couple short squishy areas.  Wildflowers were out in all their glory - Rabbit Ear Chickweed, Poison Camas, Camas, Lupine, Purple Sanical, Bristly Fiddleneck, Red Dead Nettle, Rapeseed, Desert Parsley Oregon Grape, Pacific Sanical, Fillary, White Campion and Lilacs.  We followed the prairie trail and turned right on Bluff trail and followed the switchbacks down to the beach above the 2 lagoon ponds and then south on the beach for a 5.4 mile trek. The driftwood beach logs was a perfect place for a lunch break and birthday celebration.  Bird song greeted you the entire route.  Red winged blackbirds, house sparrows, robins and white crowned sparrows were flitting above the prairie, Bald eagles were soaring above the bluffs and gulls and cormorants were hanging out on the low tide beach and a Heron was hunting in the Lagoon pond. We also spotted a lone cottontail and coyote scat was all along the upper prairie trail. Trail traffic was moderate with more people beach walking from the south beach access.  On the way back to the ferry we stopped at the Price Sculpture Forest just east of Coupeville.  What a hiding gem and collection of art.  This .8 mile walk is in an evergreen forested area and the trails had several mud puddles. We caught the 5:00 PM ferry back to Edmonds.  Another fantastic day out in nature with friends.

What a beautiful day and place to celebrate Earth Day! Many flowers in bloom along the trail today. Blue skies with big puffy white clouds and some wind, but overall, pleasant. We set out on a mission to collect trash on the trail and beach while we were hiking. We collected a bag full. Overall the trail and beach is very clean. Highly recommend 

Started off as a beautiful day with lots of sunshine but that quickly turned into overcast with storm clouds and eventually rain. It was a good thing I finished the hike before the bad weather took over. This trail is best hiked at low tide but can be done at either. I have hiked this trail numerous times but this time I found something new. I have always hiked up the hill at the beginning and hiked the Bluff Trail until the stopping point where you head downhill to the beach. At that point I have always hiked the beach back to the parking lot. On my hike this time I realized there is a trail that meanders along Perego Lagoon and keeps you out of the soft rock and sand on the beach for about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way back down to the beginning. The upside is it's easier to walk on and the downside is that you can't see the ocean or the beach during that time. It finally comes to the point where the trail ends and you have to get on the beach and walk. Checkout the video of this hike by clicking on the link below or check out my Vimeo Channel at https://vimeo.com/mikemorrison for over 400 hundred other hikes done in Washington State and beyond. 

As always get out and see this beautiful state and enjoy your hiking!!

Take Care,

Mike

Whidbey Island was gorgeous on this cool, blue-sky April day. Edelman and I cruised down from B'ham this morning, crossing over Deception Pass--where my parents had their honeymoon, as my father liked to joke about (they were together 46 yrs., so the "deception" couldn't have been that bad). Anyway, just making the point that even the drive there is lovely, alternating between views of the Cascades and Olympics, Puget Sound and farmland.

THE HIKE: We headed to Fort Ebey State Park first, where we drove to the end of the road (where there's a stocked, clean outhouse) and hit the bluff trail. There's a trail map at a TH kiosk, but I got one from the state park website. The Kettles Trail system runs through there, too, with a bunch of trails shooting off from the bluff trail and the various parking areas. We focused on the bluff trail, but all trails are clearly signed. The bluff trail leads along the bluff, but unlike Ebey's Landing Bluff Trail, it weaves in and out of coastal woods and leads down to a very nice beach after about 1.25 miles. WE walked along the beach once we go there, and saw three bald eagles, a rabbit, and a hawk. Lots of picnic tables and campsites all through the trail area.

After returning the way we came, we decided we wanted to go further (RT by this point was only about 3 miles), so we drove southeast on Hwy 20 to reach Ebey's Landing. There are lots of entries on this website for that trail, but I will reiterate that it's a beautiful area and quintessentially PNW: wind-blown bluff with wild roses (which will be blooming in June), breeze-sculpted fir trees, hawks wheeling just feet above your head, eagles caroling above you as well. We did the loop hike, adding about 3.5 more miles to our day.

Challenges: the trails in both places are easy to follow--you won't get lost, though I'd bring a map. The Ebey's Landing Bluff Trail gets narrow in places and traces pretty closely along the bluff. Folks with serious acrophobia or vision impairment may find it a little much. No need for poles. Wear layers and bring a sun hat--the wind is chilly and the sun bright. Oh, and there are some MONDO black jack bees bombing around the various flowering shrubs. They're not aggro or anything, just kind of weird looking . . .RT total today was maybe 6.5 miles.

This 5 mile loop trail has everything! Prairie, ocean views, lake walk, forest, historic buildings, and beach walking.

TH: The TH has clean bathrooms and two picnic tables. You do need a WA Discover Pass at the TH or try to find street parking south of the TH. 

Trail: The wildflowers haven't really started to bloom yet. Nonetheless, it is a lovely trail. We went counter clockwise ending with the beach walk back from the lake, which is what I would recommend. The trail is well defined and marked. Great bird watching throughout the trail. I would certainly recommend this area anytime of the year, any weather!