I was hoping to hike this trail this weekend but according to Larrabee State Park website, Cleator Road will be closed 5/2/2017-5/12/2017 for grading.

We hiked a 12-mile loop from the South Lost Lake Trail parking lot. We started up the Fragrance Lake trail and did the 0.75-mile loop around Fragrance Lake, then skipped over to the South Lost Lake trail and had a snack at the lake. On the way back we took the Rock trail, Double Diamond trail, and Fragrance Lake Road back to the parking lot. That left just enough time to swing by Taylor Shellfish Farms to pick up some fresh mussels for dinner (they close at 6:00 nowadays). The perfect end to a great day! Details on each trail: FRAGRANCE LAKE TRAIL: Overall the trail is very muddy. You won’t want to wear your pretty new sneakers here! This was an extremely popular trail on this sunny Sunday, full of people with dogs and noisy kids. Luckily almost all the dogs were leashed today. As BackpackingRN observed last week, there’s a trash can at the lake, but it’s still full (or full again). It pays to always prepare to pack out your trash. SOUTH LOST LAKE TRAIL: Also very muddy. Currently there are some nice views of Samish Bay through the bare tree branches, which will be obscured once the leaves fill in. We encountered fewer people on this trail. ROCK TRAIL: This trail was noticeably drier than the other trails we hiked today. The trail is aptly named; the eroded sandstone has some cool shapes! DOUBLE DIAMOND TRAIL: Near the end of Cleator Road, the Rock Creek trail intersects with the Double Diamond trail. It’s a 4-way intersection with no signposts. At this point we turned from the Rock Creek trail LEFT onto the Double Diamond trail to go down the west side of the mountain. At some point after that the Double Diamond trail splits into two: The right (northwestern) fork is for cyclists and the left (southeastern) fork is for hikers. NOTE: This junction is marked with signs at the bottom convergence point, but not at the top one, so keep your eyes peeled. Presumably the trail splits because it would be dangerous for hikers and cyclists to share the same trail through this steep area, since cyclists will be cruising downhill at super speed along the twists and turns. Hikers wouldn’t hear them coming – and cyclists won’t see the hikers – until it’s too late. If you miss the fork and suddenly find yourself on a trail full of steep moguls imprinted only with tire tracks (no footprints), you’re probably on the bikes-only trail.

I've recently discovered the gem that is Rock Trail. Each time I hike this beautiful trail I am in awe of the hardwork and sweat that must have gone into it. The stairs are fairly mellow for the elevation drop you make, but definitely take it slow and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. I did notice a fair amount of beer cans last time I went. Don't be selfish, pack your trash out!

The Rock Trail is not called the Rock Trail for nothing. After a short walk, you see a gigantic rock overhang, and you think: “Oh, that must be it, cool”. But it gets better. As the trail unfolds, you see one amazing formation after another, each a bit different. It is a geology museum that raises many questions for the non-geologist. In one place, a layer of pebbles was clearly visible embedded in the sandstone. The water was dripping down and eroding the area, and under the rock was an area of pebbles, apparently derived from the eroded rock. The pebbles must be older than the sandstone, and where are they from ? In another location, large rounded cavities (tafoni) in the sandstone were visible, like giant bubbles of mysterious provenance. In several places, one could see large rocks still part of the wall but clearly destined to fall off the rockface in the future millennnia. And beyond the rockface, the trail enters a giant’s playground of moss-covered rocks that indeed must have fallen off the rockface in prior eons. Everywhere, admire the life forms clinging to the rock and taking advantage of the drip paths of life-giving water – many colors of moss and algae, ferns, trees and other plants. WTA’s trailbuilding here is truly astounding. The stairs go down an almost vertical slope for hundreds of feet, leaving one to wonder how the heavy lumber could even have been carried here, let alone put in place so perfectly. Try to leave 30 min time after your hike to explore the special geologic features and beautiful view from the beach at Larrabee State Park. Drive into the park entrance on the seaward side of SR11 close to the north end of the park. Follow signs to the beach and park in the parking lot at the end. Walk a few hundred feet over the lawn to the band shell (dated 1915, the year the park was founded), and note the signs to the beach. Leaving the band shell on your right, turn left and pass through a tunnel with wildlife murals that passes under the railroad tracks. Turn right as you emerge from the tunnel and in a few hundred feet you are on the beach. Walk north a little bit to see the honeycomb rock formations described in Dave Tucker’s book “Geology Underfoot in Western Washington”. Dave Tucker answers many of my questions about the geologic features of the Rock Trail and honeycomb weathering in the links below but for a full description of honeycomb weathering see the book.

I hiked most of this today as a volunteer for a WTA Trail Work Party. The unpaved road up to the trailhead at the overlook is good with no potholes. We were in search of downed trees on the trail that had been reported by some great hikers to the Larrabbe Park workers and found a large double tree felled by winds immediately next to Boggards Bridge whose root ball completely obliterated the trail. Some of us worked on that and others of us attended to other things including a smaller tree across the trail farther down and widening out the trail in a couple of narrow spots. After the double tree was cut from the immense root ball, the root ball righted itself into its original spot (wish I could have seen that at the time) and we roughed in the repair for the trail. That's the first time I've been on the Rock Trail, and although I didn't make it all the way down (that'll be another day on my own), it's a really neat hike - phenomenal geology, and some lovely views. Just take a care for your knees - it's quite a climb up and down those stairs.