Ebey's Landing

Bluff Trail at Ebey's Landing

3.5 miles loop, 300 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy-moderate, trail occasionally narrow and often near cliff edges
Access: Paved road to trailhead, Washington State Parks Discover Pass required for parking

One of the most beautiful stretches of coastline on the Salish Sea is at Ebey's Landing on Whidbey Island. Ebey's Landing covers a landscape of farmland, forests, beaches, and bluffs in a patchwork of federal, state, and private lands; it is not only a scenic spot but also a historically significant area in Washington State. The Coupeville region is collectively part of the Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve, the first and largest national historic reserve in the country, which has helped prevent excessive development in this charming landscape. This loop hike follows the Bluff Trail high above Admiralty Inlet along the cliffs of Whidbey Island on the way out and returns via a walk along the beach.

I did this hike on an extremely nice January weekend. I headed out from Seattle early in the morning, taking the Mukilteo-Clinton Ferry and then following Washington 525 north to Coupeville. I spent the morning at Fort Casey and ate lunch at Toby's Tavern in Coupeville before heading to Ebey's Landing. The turnoff for Ebey's Landing is just west of the turnoff for Coupeville Main Street on Highway 20; I reached the trailhead by following Ebey Road south until I came to the sign for Ebey's Landing State Park at the point where the road descended to the beach. The parking lot was full when I arrived, so I parked along the southwest side of the road to start the hike.

The Bluff Trail departed to the northwest from the parking lot, briefly meandering near the beach before climbing up the beach bluffs to the flat terrain of Ebey's Prairie via stairs. At the top of the stairs, the trail followed the edge of the bluff, with farmland to my right and wide open views of the Admiralty Inlet and the Olympics to my right.

Bluff Trail at Ebey's Landing

Half a mile from the trailhead, I came to the junction with the Ebey's Prairie Trail, which branched off to the right and followed the former boundary of Isaac Ebey's land. In continued straight here, embarking on the steepest climb of the hike. I soon found myself atop a set of higher bluffs with a commanding view of Ebey's Prairie, the Cascades, the Olympics, and Puget Sound.

Ebey's Landing, Whidbey Island coastline

Mount Baker, Three Fingers, Pilchuck, Glacier Peak, and Baring were among the notable peaks visible in the Cascades. In front of the Cascades lay the patchwork of farms and homes on Ebey's Prairie. This plot of land received its current name from Isaac Ebey, the first European settler on Whidbey Island. Ebey claimed, settled, and farmed a square mile of the island that at the time was mostly open prairie. Ebey's Prairie was itself an artifact of Native American presence on Whidbey Island: the grasslands existed because of frequent burns conducted by its original inhabitants. Keeping the area unforested allowed Native Americans to harvest foods such as camas bulbs.

Ebey was a prominent citizen in the early history of Washington Territory. The landing on his property was one of the principal docks on the west side of Whidbey Island. Ebey was instrumental in locating the Customs House in the Puget Sound region in Port Townsend, contributing to that town's good fortunes in the latter half of the 19th century. Ebey's death was as dramatic as his life: seven years after founding his homestead on Whidbey Island, Ebey was killed by Tlingit or Haida, who traveled from Southeast Alaska down to the Puget Sound to avenge the killing of one of their tribe at Port Gamble the previous year by European American sailors.

Mount Baker rises over Ebey's Prairie

Three Fingers rising above the farms on Ebey's Prairie

Once atop the bluff, the trail was fairly straightforward, following the undulating edge of the steep slopes of the island. The Olympic Mountains dominated the skyline across Admiralty Inlet, with Mount Constance, Mount Townsend, Buckhorn Mountain, Blue Mountain, and Mount Angeles among the most notable peaks.

Olympics rising across Admiralty Inlet

Rainier was barely visible in the far distance to the south. I saw the Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry make multiple runs over the course of my hike. Many large container ships made their way in and out of the Sound through the Inlet.

From the bluffs, I could see Fort Casey at Admiralty Head on Whidbey Island, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, and Fort Worden at Point Wilson on the Quimper Peninsula. Combined, these three forts protected Puget Sound and the naval bases and shipyards at Bremerton and Everett from any potential naval invasion. All three forts were established as part of the Endicott Plan during the Cleveland administration, in which the War Department decided that it was necessary to fortify major harbors and population centers against hostile naval attacks. Built around the turn of the twentieth century, the three forts of the Puget Sound were designed to create a triangle of fire on hostile ships passing through Admiralty Inlet. These defenses were never put to the test, and advances in aerial warfare rendered these forts obsolete by the Second World War; all three forts have since been converted into state parks. Most of the guns in their batteries were scrapped long ago, but Fort Casey still showcases two large 10-inch guns.

Coupeville to Port Townsend ferry, Rainier faint in the distance

After following the bluff trail for a few minutes along the top of the grassy cliffs, Perego's Lagoon came into sight. Here, a sandbar separated a brackish pool from the ocean and prevented severe erosion on the bluff itself, creating a less steep and grassier cliff.

Perego's Lagoon and the Salish Sea from the Bluff Trail

I followed the muddy Bluff Trail along the entire length of Perego's Lagoon, enjoying the continuous views of the Olympic Mountains. I also found the forest to be quite interesting here: many of the trees were heavily sculpted by the strong winds coming off the Strait of Juan de Fuca, creating many unusual shapes.

Gnarled tree along the trail

At the far end of the lagoon, the trail descended the grassy hill via two long switchbacks, coming down to the beach. One of the switchback turns was badly eroded, seemingly because too many hikers had followed a steep gully downhill and caused the trail itself to degrade badly. Don't cut switchbacks here! The trail is well labelled- there's no good excuse for making erosion worse in this fragile environment.

Perego's Lagoon

Arriving at the beach, I saw on a piece of driftwood and gazed out at the Olympics and at the cliffs along the coast to the north. Here, the tops of the bluffs seemed forested and undeveloped, giving the island a wilderness feel even though we were not too far from towns and farmland.

Headlands at the beach

From this point, I followed the beach south back to the trailhead. Although the views were undeniably better along the Bluff Trail, the beach had different charms: wildlife, kelp washed up from the Salish Sea, the music of breaking waves. At one point, I saw two bald eagles soar past me overhead, a heartening reminder that even a species at the brink of extinction can come back strong and become ubiquitous again.

Bald eagles

Green Mountain (Kitsap Peninsula)

Seattle skyline with ferries on Puget Sound from Green Mountain summit

5 miles round trip, 1050 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
Access: Paved road to trailhead, Washington State Parks Discover Pass required for parking

Green Mountain, the second highest point on the Kitsap Peninsula, situated in the heart of the Puget Sound region, is a relatively easy and straightforward hike that offers good views of the Seattle skyline and the Cascades from its summit and of the Olympic Mountains along the trail itself. This peak is one of many named Green Mountain in Washington State; it is probably an easier hike than any of the other peaks in the state that shares its name and although its views may not be as spectacular as that of Green Mountain along the Suiattle River, it is a worthy hike for Sound residents looking for a good low-elevation hike during the winter. Spring is also a reasonable time to visit to see the rhododendrons along the trail bloom. Warmer seasons may bring a less peaceful experience with more mountain bikers, motorcyclists, and ATVs, all of which are allowed on the trails in the Green Mountain State Forest. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources, which manages the area, provides an excellent map for hiking in the area.

I hiked this trail on a clear January day, driving out from Seattle early in midmorning along I-5 south and taking Route 16 northwest across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge past Gig Harbor towards Bremerton. Just before reaching Bremerton, I took the left exit for Route 3 towards Belfair and Shelton. When the road coming off of the exit reached an intersection with Route 3, rather than turning onto Route 3, I stayed straight through the light on a small road that quickly came to a T-intersection with the Old Belfair Highway. I turned left here and followed the road west six miles to Bear Creek-Dewatto Road, which branched off to the right of the Old Belfair Highway. I took a right onto Bear Creek-Dewatto, following it uphill for two miles and past Tiger Lake to the Gold Creek Road; here I made another right turn and followed the road north for two miles to the well-marked Gold Creek trailhead, where there was ample parking.

A recent cold snap and prior snowstorms left a couple inches of snow on the ground at the trailhead; thus, when I headed out onto the Gold Creek Trail, which left from the north end of the parking lot, I followed the trail through snow for the first couple hundred meters. Here, the forested Green Mountain was visible rising in the distance above the snow-covered trail.

Snowy trail near the Gold Creek Trailhead

About four hundred meters from the trailhead, the trail made a sharp right turn and became much broader as it began to follow a former roadbed. The ground underfoot was crunchy due to the abundance of needle ice in cold weather.

Needle ice

 Following the trail along this old road, Gold Creek itself soon came within earshot. The road stayed high above the south bank of the river, but a few use trails led down to obstructed views of cascades on the creek.

Cascades on Gold Creek

Soon afterwards, the trail reached and crossed a well-built bridge over Gold Creek and came to a trail junction. Straight ahead was the Davis Trail, which followed the base of Green Mountain; I took the fork for a sharp left turn to stay on the Gold Creek Trail. Soon afterwards, I came to a second junction with the Plummer Trail, which split to the left; I stayed to the right and continued along the Gold Creek Trail.

From here, the Gold Creek Trail began to climb through a nice second-growth forest littered with madrones and rhododendron. This section of trail would undoubtedly be beautiful in May when the rhododendrons bloom. The trail climbed steadily through a set of shallow switchbacks before splitting off into two directions halfway through the ascent. Both paths were labelled as the Gold Creek Trail; the paths diverged briefly before rejoining in a few hundred meters. It's fairly inconsequential which path you decide to follow.

After the two threads of the Gold Creek Trail reconvened, the trail flattened out as it followed the upper slopes of Green Mountain. About a mile and a half from the trailhead, the trail very suddenly emerged into a recent clearcut, a reminder that Green Mountain State Forest is managed for resource harvesting and not just recreation.

While some hiking purists may balk at the prospect of hiking through a recently logged area, others will appreciate the extraordinary views of the Olympic Mountains at the clearcut. This logged-over area provides the best views of the hike, with a 180-degree view to the west of the Olympic skyline including Ellinor, Washington, Stone, the Brothers, Jupiter, Constance, Buckhorn, and Townsend. Frozen Lake Tahuya was visible in the foreground on the Kitsap Peninsula while the Hood Canal was also visible in the distance to the northwest, separating the Kitsap from the Olympic Peninsula.

Olympics rising over frozen Tahuya Lake

Olympics rising above Hood Canal, viewed from the clearcut

Starting from the clearcut to the summit, the trail was fully snow-covered; I put on microspikes for better traction on the sometimes slippery trail. Shortly after entering the clearcut, I came to a junction with the Plummer Trail; once again, I stayed straight through this junction and continued generally uphill through the logged area. Soon afterward, the trail crossed a logging road that was not marked on the DNR maps.

Snow-covered logging road through clearcut

After skirting the edge of the forest for a little while, the Gold Creek Trail reentered the trees and came to a junction with the Wildcat and Vista Trails. The Wildcat Trail, to the left, led downhill to another trailhead, while the Vista Trail to the right continued towards the Green Mountain summit. I followed the Vista Trail for the last half mile through the forest, climbing gradually and passing the snow-covered upper parking lot for summit access until coming to the end of the trail, where I found a number of snow-covered picnic tables and a rock outcrop with a view, with its edges lined with a protective fence.

This summit vista was fairly narrow, mainly facing east and south; a number of trees growing below the outcrop were beginning to block portions of the view. I imagine that within a decade, the forest here will be tall enough that there will be no view left.

The most notable aspect of the view was the Seattle skyline with its skyscrapers arrayed along the shores of Elliott Bay, with a backdrop of craggy Cascade peaks rising behind it. Many notable Seattle landmarks were clearly identifiable from here, including the Columbia Center, the Smith Tower, the Space Needle, CenturyLink Field, 1201 Third Avenue, the UW Tower, and Union Square. Bremerton was also visible to the right of Seattle, across the Sound; navy ships at Naval Base Kitsap- Bremerton could be seen along the Sinclair Inlet. In the distance, SeaTac Airport was visible across the Sound and many peaks in the Snoqualmie Pass corridor were distinguishable, including Mount Si, Mailbox Peak, and McClellan Peak.

Snoqualmie Pass corridor peaks and Naval Base Kitsap- Bremerton

Glacier Peak was the most easily visible stratovolcano from the viewpoint, rising prominently to the east. Mount Rainier was also easily visible, though partially obscured by communications towers rising from Gold Mountain, Green Mountain's southern neighbor. Attentive hikers may be able to spot the crater of Mount St. Helens to the south and Mount Adams is visible but partially obscured as well.

Glacier Peak

Due to the frigid temperatures, I briefly enjoyed the views and then made my way back to the trailhead before sunset, taking care in the particularly slippery partially snow-covered sections along the Gold Creek Trail where microspikes were impractical.