February 19, 2025 • 10 mins
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Jennie shares some of her favorite hikes on Whidbey and why it’s such an ideal late winter and spring hiking destination.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jennie Flaming (00:05):
Jennie, welcome to the Washington State hiking
podcast. I'm your host. JennieThwing Flaming, and I'm your co
host. Craig Romano, Craig and Iare happy to have you here. We
provide practical and timely,seasonal hiking advice for
hikers, trail runners andpotential hikers and trail
runners of all skill and abilitylevels that is helpful,
(00:25):
accurate, fun and inclusive.
Hi everyone. Jennie here, sotoday I am talking about hiking
on Whidbey Island. And thereason I wanted to record and
share this episode with youhere, where we are in late
(00:46):
February, is that this winter,because of some kind of family
factors and logistical factors,I have needed to stay a little
bit closer to home with myhiking and I have, and I live in
South Seattle, and I have spentquite a bit of time on
(01:07):
Bainbridge Island and VashonIsland and Whidbey Island. And I
was really reflecting on howwonderful of a day trip getaway
that is really makes you feellike you got away from from the
city without a lot of drivingcomplication. It's not crowded
this time of year, and there arewonderful hikes on all of these
(01:31):
islands. So last year, I did anepisode about Vashon, and in the
future, I will do one aboutBainbridge. But for today, I
wanted to talk about WhidbeyIsland, and partly because
spring is also an amazing timeto go over to Whidbey. It's
(01:52):
really convenient for people wholive in Seattle and north of
Seattle. It isn't as convenientfor people who are in Tacoma, in
Vancouver and EasternWashington, but it's also worth
a trip over there at even in thenon summer months. So let me
(02:12):
tell you a little bit about whywould be in particular is such a
wonderful hiking destination,and then I'll talk about a few
of my favorite hikes there. So
Unknown (02:26):
on Whidbey, there is a wide variety of hiking options
compared to many other close totown locations, which is
wonderful. There are beach hikesyou can do, like at EBS landing
on the west side of the island,also double bluffs, which is a
(02:51):
dog friendly Beach, is anotherwonderful place. Whidbey has old
growth trees. There arewonderful old growth forests in
South Whidbey State Park. Sothat is a wonderful place. There
are also great view hikes likegoose rock in deception pass
(03:12):
State Park and also e B'slanding. So I just wanted to
mention that I'll talk aboutthose more a little more
specifically in a moment. I alsolike that for Whidbey, you can
either take the ferry or you candrive from Anacortes over or
Mount Vernon over the deceptionpass. Bridge. Deception pass.
(03:36):
The park is the most popularstate park in Washington State.
And in the off season, it'sreally nice to go there when it
is a bit less crowded. And it'susually the whole island is
usually snow free. You know, ifthere's a lowland winter storm
that might present some snow,but for the most part, it's a
(03:58):
pretty doable day. And you can Ioften do like a loop of going on
the ferry one way and the bridgethe other way. That can be a
nice way for just some variety.
Some of it depends on where youlive. If you're on the Olympic
Peninsula, then it probablymakes the most sense to take the
ferry from Port Townsend over toCoupeville. So Whidbey Island is
(04:19):
also an important crossroads forhumans in the Salish Sea for
1000s and 1000s of years, manydifferent Coast Salish
indigenous people make eithertheir permanent homes or
seasonal homes all over theisland in most of what I've seen
about the history of the islandthat is not emphasized as much
(04:43):
as I would like for it to be,but it is a place where there
was lots of and still is, lotsof seasonal fishing activities,
lots of important sites. It'sbeen an important place for
people since.
This way before white settlerscame to Washington State. It's
(05:05):
also a big island with a lot ofvariety, and there are also many
wonderful local restaurants. OnWhidbey Island, there are
several wineries and a couple ofbreweries, and those are great
places to go, Green Bank farm ifyou have a dog, that has a large
(05:25):
off leash area for dogs to playand run. And then there's also
the bistro there that servesamazing pie and other food.
There's wine tasting and acheese shop. It's pretty it's
pretty great so lots of greatlocal food to find on the
island. One thing I will let youknow is that at times, the Naval
(05:49):
Air Station, which is near OakHarbor on the north end of the
island, at times, there arequite a few low lying jets in
different areas, especially thenorth part of the island, so
just be aware of that that'spretty normal, especially in the
deception Pass area. I don'tfind that to be a huge deal
(06:11):
personally, but for many people,I know it is. So I just want to
make you aware that that'ssomething you might encounter.
All right, so let's talk about afew specific hikes out on
Whidbey. I'm going to start atthe north end of the island and
work south, and I want to makeit super clear that I'm not even
covering all the wonderfulplaces to hike on the island,
(06:34):
but these are just a few of myfavorites. So deception pass
State Park, amazing place forhiking. Goose rock is the
highest point on Whidbey Island,and has an amazing view. You can
start at the parking area nearthe deception pass bridge and
climb up there for great view. Ialso really love going around
(06:57):
Bowman Bay and you can see themaiden of deception Pass, which
is a beautiful sculpture, woodsculpture there that's been
there a really long time. Youcan also that hike. You can kind
of do up to seven or eightmiles, or just one or two miles,
depending on how far you want togo. And I would just encourage
(07:19):
you to check out the maps thatWashington State Parks has of
the park to see all thesedifferent trails, but those are
a couple of my favorites. BowmanBay is also a wonderful place to
see a sunset, and there's asmall campground and picnic area
there. Great, great location.
All right, going a littlefurther south,
(07:41):
I mentioned E, B's landing. Itis one of my all time favorite
hikes in Washington State. Youhave the option of just walking
along the beach, or you can goalong the bluff. Has amazing
views of admiralty inlet. I havealmost always seen Eagles there
often seals in the water. So youcan do a loop, starting either
(08:05):
at the top or the bottom andgoing up along the bluff and
back on the beach. Or you canjust do and that's about three
and a half miles. Or you canjust do an out and back on the
beach, or an out and back on thebluff. So there's a few
different, few different optionsthere for EBS, alright, going a
little further south, a spotthat a lot of people have never
(08:29):
heard of or haven't been to, isSouth Whidbey State Park, and it
has amazing old growth trees. Imentioned that before, but there
you can do several miles ofhiking in this incredible
forest, and it is not busy ever.
It's one of my other favoritespots. And then I mentioned
(08:49):
double bluff beach. I mentionedGreen Bank. Those are great
places to go with a dog. Thereare also kind of back near
Coupeville and near where EBSlanding is. There's also a long
trail system, the kettle trail,and that has amazing
rhododendrons in the spring,late spring. So that's another
(09:12):
and many, many, many miles oftrails. So another great place
to check out, all right. Well, Ihope this inspires you to take a
day trip, or maybe even a longertrip over to would be this
spring, and spring really isjust around the corner. So
congratulations on hiking yourway through another Washington
(09:36):
winter, and spring will be heresoon, so we'll have more
wonderful spring hikes comingyour way very soon. Bye for now.
Hi everyone. This is Jennie. Ihope you enjoyed this episode,
Craig, and I love bringing theseepisodes to you. And.
(10:00):
I want to remind you about howyou can support the podcast. You
can leave us a tip or purchaseCraig's books or sign up for my
email list. And in addition tothat, we have our affiliate link
for Expedia and Rei in the shownotes. So if you are making a
purchase from one of thoseplaces, and you follow the link
(10:22):
that we always have in the shownotes, then we will receive a
small commission, and that helpsus keep things going. So thank
you so much for your support,and thank you for listening. You
Jennie, welcome to the Washington State hiking
podcast. I'm your host. JennieThwing Flaming, and I'm your co
host. Craig Romano, Craig and Iare happy to have you here. We
provide practical and timely,seasonal hiking advice for
hikers, trail runners andpotential hikers and trail
runners of all skill and abilitylevels that is helpful,
(00:25):
accurate, fun and inclusive.
Hi everyone. Jennie here, sotoday I am talking about hiking
on Whidbey Island. And thereason I wanted to record and
share this episode with youhere, where we are in late
(00:46):
February, is that this winter,because of some kind of family
factors and logistical factors,I have needed to stay a little
bit closer to home with myhiking and I have, and I live in
South Seattle, and I have spentquite a bit of time on
(01:07):
Bainbridge Island and VashonIsland and Whidbey Island. And I
was really reflecting on howwonderful of a day trip getaway
that is really makes you feellike you got away from from the
city without a lot of drivingcomplication. It's not crowded
this time of year, and there arewonderful hikes on all of these
(01:31):
islands. So last year, I did anepisode about Vashon, and in the
future, I will do one aboutBainbridge. But for today, I
wanted to talk about WhidbeyIsland, and partly because
spring is also an amazing timeto go over to Whidbey. It's
(01:52):
really convenient for people wholive in Seattle and north of
Seattle. It isn't as convenientfor people who are in Tacoma, in
Vancouver and EasternWashington, but it's also worth
a trip over there at even in thenon summer months. So let me
(02:12):
tell you a little bit about whywould be in particular is such a
wonderful hiking destination,and then I'll talk about a few
of my favorite hikes there. So
Unknown (02:26):
on Whidbey, there is a wide variety of hiking options
compared to many other close totown locations, which is
wonderful. There are beach hikesyou can do, like at EBS landing
on the west side of the island,also double bluffs, which is a
(02:51):
dog friendly Beach, is anotherwonderful place. Whidbey has old
growth trees. There arewonderful old growth forests in
South Whidbey State Park. Sothat is a wonderful place. There
are also great view hikes likegoose rock in deception pass
(03:12):
State Park and also e B'slanding. So I just wanted to
mention that I'll talk aboutthose more a little more
specifically in a moment. I alsolike that for Whidbey, you can
either take the ferry or you candrive from Anacortes over or
Mount Vernon over the deceptionpass. Bridge. Deception pass.
(03:36):
The park is the most popularstate park in Washington State.
And in the off season, it'sreally nice to go there when it
is a bit less crowded. And it'susually the whole island is
usually snow free. You know, ifthere's a lowland winter storm
that might present some snow,but for the most part, it's a
(03:58):
pretty doable day. And you can Ioften do like a loop of going on
the ferry one way and the bridgethe other way. That can be a
nice way for just some variety.
Some of it depends on where youlive. If you're on the Olympic
Peninsula, then it probablymakes the most sense to take the
ferry from Port Townsend over toCoupeville. So Whidbey Island is
(04:19):
also an important crossroads forhumans in the Salish Sea for
1000s and 1000s of years, manydifferent Coast Salish
indigenous people make eithertheir permanent homes or
seasonal homes all over theisland in most of what I've seen
about the history of the islandthat is not emphasized as much
(04:43):
as I would like for it to be,but it is a place where there
was lots of and still is, lotsof seasonal fishing activities,
lots of important sites. It'sbeen an important place for
people since.
This way before white settlerscame to Washington State. It's
(05:05):
also a big island with a lot ofvariety, and there are also many
wonderful local restaurants. OnWhidbey Island, there are
several wineries and a couple ofbreweries, and those are great
places to go, Green Bank farm ifyou have a dog, that has a large
(05:25):
off leash area for dogs to playand run. And then there's also
the bistro there that servesamazing pie and other food.
There's wine tasting and acheese shop. It's pretty it's
pretty great so lots of greatlocal food to find on the
island. One thing I will let youknow is that at times, the Naval
(05:49):
Air Station, which is near OakHarbor on the north end of the
island, at times, there arequite a few low lying jets in
different areas, especially thenorth part of the island, so
just be aware of that that'spretty normal, especially in the
deception Pass area. I don'tfind that to be a huge deal
(06:11):
personally, but for many people,I know it is. So I just want to
make you aware that that'ssomething you might encounter.
All right, so let's talk about afew specific hikes out on
Whidbey. I'm going to start atthe north end of the island and
work south, and I want to makeit super clear that I'm not even
covering all the wonderfulplaces to hike on the island,
(06:34):
but these are just a few of myfavorites. So deception pass
State Park, amazing place forhiking. Goose rock is the
highest point on Whidbey Island,and has an amazing view. You can
start at the parking area nearthe deception pass bridge and
climb up there for great view. Ialso really love going around
(06:57):
Bowman Bay and you can see themaiden of deception Pass, which
is a beautiful sculpture, woodsculpture there that's been
there a really long time. Youcan also that hike. You can kind
of do up to seven or eightmiles, or just one or two miles,
depending on how far you want togo. And I would just encourage
(07:19):
you to check out the maps thatWashington State Parks has of
the park to see all thesedifferent trails, but those are
a couple of my favorites. BowmanBay is also a wonderful place to
see a sunset, and there's asmall campground and picnic area
there. Great, great location.
All right, going a littlefurther south,
(07:41):
I mentioned E, B's landing. Itis one of my all time favorite
hikes in Washington State. Youhave the option of just walking
along the beach, or you can goalong the bluff. Has amazing
views of admiralty inlet. I havealmost always seen Eagles there
often seals in the water. So youcan do a loop, starting either
(08:05):
at the top or the bottom andgoing up along the bluff and
back on the beach. Or you canjust do and that's about three
and a half miles. Or you canjust do an out and back on the
beach, or an out and back on thebluff. So there's a few
different, few different optionsthere for EBS, alright, going a
little further south, a spotthat a lot of people have never
(08:29):
heard of or haven't been to, isSouth Whidbey State Park, and it
has amazing old growth trees. Imentioned that before, but there
you can do several miles ofhiking in this incredible
forest, and it is not busy ever.
It's one of my other favoritespots. And then I mentioned
(08:49):
double bluff beach. I mentionedGreen Bank. Those are great
places to go with a dog. Thereare also kind of back near
Coupeville and near where EBSlanding is. There's also a long
trail system, the kettle trail,and that has amazing
rhododendrons in the spring,late spring. So that's another
(09:12):
and many, many, many miles oftrails. So another great place
to check out, all right. Well, Ihope this inspires you to take a
day trip, or maybe even a longertrip over to would be this
spring, and spring really isjust around the corner. So
congratulations on hiking yourway through another Washington
(09:36):
winter, and spring will be heresoon, so we'll have more
wonderful spring hikes comingyour way very soon. Bye for now.
Hi everyone. This is Jennie. Ihope you enjoyed this episode,
Craig, and I love bringing theseepisodes to you. And.
(10:00):
I want to remind you about howyou can support the podcast. You
can leave us a tip or purchaseCraig's books or sign up for my
email list. And in addition tothat, we have our affiliate link
for Expedia and Rei in the shownotes. So if you are making a
purchase from one of thoseplaces, and you follow the link
(10:22):
that we always have in the shownotes, then we will receive a
small commission, and that helpsus keep things going. So thank
you so much for your support,and thank you for listening. You
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