This time of year I question why I live here. The weather is horrible, especially this year. But then Spring arrives and my thoughts are wow, isn't the PNW beautiful..For now, I try to balance between picking hikes in the snow and in the lowland areas. 

Today I opted to stay low and chose to go north. I parked at Rosario Beach TH and walked to Bowman Bay and headed to Lighthouse Point. I like this area because it is different every time I come here. The expansive views are beautiful. Depending on the light, the colors of the land and water change and small details in the landscape and wildlife often provide a pleasing surprise.

It was quiet here today with the exception of growlers flying in and out of Whidbey. I walked a little over 4 miles. You can vary the course and length of the trails to make this walk suitable to your needs. The recent high tides and wind have caused a good bit of tree debris and influx of seaweed on the beach but none of it causes any obstacles.

I parked at the Bowman Bay Boat launch around 8am and headed first along the trail toward Rosario Head. Once I arrived, I realized there was plenty of parking in a nice lot there along with open bathrooms. After circling the head, I backtracked toward Lighthouse point and reservation Head, which had amazing views of the sound, San Juans, and even the Olympics. Upon heading back, I ended up getting my feet wet on the connecting spigot of land coming back as the tide was coming in. I continued on a trail that paralleled the 20, crossed the bridge, and hiked midway around on the Goose Rock Perimeter trail and then up to the summit for lunch and views. The sun even came out for a bit. After lunch I hiked down and then along trails to North Beach, West Beach, and the Cranberry Lake before heading back to the Bowman Bay parking lot. The rain held off until I was almost at my car at around 2pm.

Wanted a little fresh air after yesterday’s crazy storm, but didn’t feel comfortable venturing into the mountains. A bit of debris on the trail and signs of a storm surge near the beach, but aside from one annoying blowdown (pictured) on the way from Bowman to Lighthouse Point, things were fine!

If you’re going to do this trail according to the AllTrails route, make sure you have a map in case GPS doesn’t work. There’s a section in the hike, according to Alltrails, when you’re heading to lighthouse point and you cut through some unmarked trail. It’s very primitive so be prepared for that. If you use a regular map from the Welcome Center or just snap a pic you won’t see that trail and will be better off. Deception Pass is a really cool park and the highlight was Lottie Point which people have trouble finding but other than that, this was a boring hike.

Ran the Fidalgo Bay trail half marathon on Saturday! It was so awesome to hit all of these trails in one day! Ive been on a few of these trails before but not all of them. They are beautiful, steep, and rocky. Lots of friendly folks out on the trails. Perfect way to spend a cool October day!