My husband and I went away to Whidbey Island for the weekend, alone, and hiked the Ebey's Landing Trail. It is a beautiful area! We parked on Cook Road in the parking area at the Ebey Prairie overlook, about 1:30pm (on a beautiful Saturday afternoon). We took the last spot there, but a lot of people were coming and going quickly. I think that some people were just there to check out the view. After parking we followed the gravel/dirt road past fields for about a 1/2 mile. You arrive at the Ebey homestead that has been just been opened this summer for the first time to visitors! Lots of historical information and pictures inside. It is open Thursday -Sunday through Labor Day from 10am - 4pm and is staffed by volunteers. Head west from the homestead and stay to the left of a fence that takes you all the way to the bluffs. You will come to a T junction. Turn right and follow the trail along the bluffs. You follow the bluffs until you pass by Peregos Lake - a lagoon. After you pass Peregos Lake the trail starts to descend and switchback down towards the beach. Follow the beach back until you get to a pit toilet and parking area. You pick the trail back up to the bluffs here. Head left up the trail until you reach the T junction that took you over the bluffs. Turn right to head back past the homestead and to your car. This loop is 5.6 miles long. If you wanted to do just the shorter loop from the beach up on the bluffs and back there is a parking area on Ebey's Landing road. This will cut about 2 miles off the total. We encountered plenty of other people and their dogs enjoying the trail, but it was far from crowded! Check out my full report at: http://ahomeschoolmomshikingblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/ebeys-landing-trail-july-30-2011.html

We followed the WTA directions to this hike and ended up at Ebey's Lookout at 10 am from Seattle. (A lookout upon a vast planting field and prairie.) It is across a cemetery and has about 6-10 parking spaces. As you leave this parking lot you will see a sign that says, 'trail' and 'visitors center .2 miles'. We walked (with 3 and 4 year olds) to the visitors center then along a planting field and prairie. The walk was flat and filled with wild grasses, birds and lovely greenery. The walk ended at the bluffs (majestic, peaceful, amazing), turn left and you walk a bit more then down some stairs to the beach (1.5 miles total) If you wanted to go just to the beach, there is a parking lot off Ebey's Road. If you turn right you hike for 3.5 miles to the little lagoon there. (We did not do this.) We concentrated on the beach hike since we were with kids. The bluffs were picturesque but it was very windy up there, jackets suggested. No bugs in site but sun, wind and fog. The beach was so windy and foggy, the temps. were about 55 but felt colder. I was told later in the day the fog would have burned off.

Hot and sunny at Ebey today! 2 adults and 2 children (ages 6 and 9) in party for a nice sunny day walk. Easy parking at the cemetery/visitor center. Prairie Trail: Walk across prairie trail was filled with plenty of wildflowers and bees buzzing around (none aggressive and all around feet near flowers). The kids had a great time picking lady bugs off of wheat and grasses. Bluff Trail: The bluff trail was all in the sun but the views of the sound and Olympics were to die for. The water from above was very clear and the thought of playing on the beach while walking on the hot bluff trail were frequent. The one mile bluff portion of the trail (all pretty flat and enjoyable) went by quickly and soon we were on the beach. Beach Walk: Once we got to the beach we all switched from hiking shoes/boots to our water shoes. We had swimsuits on and quickly cooled off in the water - it was everything I thought it could have been. The kids had a great time skipping rocks, finding crab shells, and driftwood walking sticks. I was amazed with the lack of trash washup on the beach - it was really clean. The walk back to the prairie trail was easy and gradual and the walk back to the car was again hot and buzzing with bees but we kept turning around and looking back to the water. The views of Mt Baker from the prairie trail were astounding and kept us looking ahead. Thanks to everyone who said hello as we were passing by. Everyone was so friendly! What a great day! I highly recommend this hike on a hot and sunny day - bring plenty of water, sunscreen and water shoes for the beach and you will have a great day.

It was wonderful to hike Ebey's Landing with four boys 8-12! The view was, I quote one boy, "a photographers dream" and another, "this is paradise"! The wildflowers are in bloom, the bee's are buzzin' and the trail is in great shape! If you have kids that need to move their bodies this summer, head to Whidbey and take this hike! Don't forget that to park you need the pass or $10 day parking.

I concur with the the previous reviewer- this is a great time of year for this hike. The wildflowers are great, it is warm enough that the breeze feels good, but it is also not super hot. There is really no shade on the trail, so on a truly sunny summer day, you'd get toasty.