Looking across the field to the bunkers at Fort Casey STate Park

Exploring the Unique Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve

Last week I mentioned that the central part of Whidbey Island was part of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. This is truly a unique situation in terms of the National Park System. 85% of the land within this reserve is privately owned. Nevertheless the national, state, county, and city of Coupeville have worked together to make this a place where the historical, cultural and geographic uniqueness of the region is preserved. Visitors won’t necessarily know they are in a national reserve when they come here, but those who live in the area do know it.

The state has three park areas within this reserve. We visited all three today. We started with the one in the middle, Ebey’s Landing. If one looks for this park on the list of state parks, it won’t show up. The park is mainly a parking lot and restroom next to the Strait of Juan de Fuca so there isn’t really much here although a Discover Pass is required to park here. What is here is the starting place for a number of hikes in the area. Our plan was to hike one of them.

After looking at the map we decided on the Bluff Trail hike. The trail follows along the top of the bluffs near the sound and then descends to the beach by which hikers return to the parking lot. We had to climb up some stairs to get up to the bluffs, but in the beginning they were low so it wasn’t that difficult of a climb. The first part of the trail was next to open farmland fields and was pretty flat. It wasn’t very challenging, but even from here the views down to the water were pretty spectacular.

Eventually we came to the end of the field and began to climb as the bluff rose higher. From here we could turn around and look back at the farmlands and see the mosaic created by the different fields. Here we also encountered what would be our companion throughout our hike on the bluff, hairy vetch. I don’t know where that name came from, but what we saw were masses of purple flowers. At first I thought they were lupine, but I realized these flowers were different. They pretty much covered the bluff as we walked along it, and I am sure they help stabilize the soil here as well. For us the color was so beautiful and added a lot to our hike.

  • Looking down at the parking lot at Ebey's Landing State Park
  • Looking north at the beach from Ebey's Landing State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • The view south along the coast line of Whidbey Island near Ebey's Landing State Park
  • Farmland in Ebey's Landing Historical National Reserve on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Hairy Vetch along the Bluff Trail on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Dirt trail at the top of the bluff near Ebey's Landing State Park on Whidbey Island

We continued climbing up for a fairly short distance where we reached the top. At this point there is a forest of evergreen trees on the right. However, for the majority of our hike the trees never blocked our views. One of the spectacular things about this hike is the constant view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the land across the water in the Olympic Peninsula. The trail was easy to walk on. It is mostly compact sand. There are no tree roots or rocks to trip over. After reaching the top of the bluff there is some up and down travel, but it is not very steep.

The trail is narrow so if there is another person on the trail, it can be a challenge for them to pass. About halfway through walking the bluff, the trail moves fairly close to the edge. This became a challenge for my wife. She was quite nervous about being so close to the edge and looking down. She enjoyed the views but not the height at which she was viewing them.

  • With Hairy vetch in the foreground, the view along the western coast of Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Looking down on Perrigo Lagoon from the Bluff Trail on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • A woman walking the Bluff Trail with a view of the Perrigo Lagoon on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Looking down on the Perrigo Lagoon from the Bluff Trail on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • The Bluff Trail as ti goes through the fields of hairy vetch on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • The view south from the Bluff Trail which includes Perrigo Lagoon
  • Looking Across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Large trees with twisting branches along the Bluff Trail from Ebey's Landing State Park in Washington

While I can not speak for any other time of year, I can say that hiking in July is really spectacular. While the clouds kept us from having a clear view of the distant lands, the wild flowers really were amazing. Along with the purple hairy vetch, we also saw a number of yellow flowers. While some were common dandelions, there were other yellow flowers as well. I joked that this was University of Washington territory with the purple and gold. We did see some pink flowers along the way as well. Overall it was a beautiful hike. The view below included not only the Strait of Juan de Fuca but also Perrigo (Perego) Lagoon which lies between the beach and the bluffs.

Eventually the trail begins to slope downwards, but it is a fairly gentle slope until the very end of the bluff trail. A number of switchbacks bring hikers down to the beach level. It’s a little steeper here but not really difficult. To get to the beach from Ebey’s Landing State Park along the Bluff Trail, we clocked about two miles. From there it’s a little over a mile and a half back to the parking lot.

  • Cliffs along the edge of Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Hikers walking down to the beach from the Bluff Trail using switchbacks on Whidbey Island
  • Hairy vetch intermingles with yellow wildflowers on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Interesting spikey seed pods found along the Bluff Trail on Whidbey Island

The beach is more sandy than some on the island, and walking on the wet sand was not really difficult. We completed the hike in about two hours. I think this is one of the most beautiful hikes in the area. One that is often overlooked because it’s on the island and not in the mountains. In the third picture below one can see a group hiking the trail as viewed from the beach.

  • A man stands near the water's edge on a driftwood covered beacj with high cliffs on Whidbey Island
  • The cliffs and Perrigo Lagoon fromm the beach walking back to Ebey's Landing State Park
  • A group of people walking the Bluff Trail as seen from the beach below on Whidbey Island
  • Perrigo Lagoon and the hairy vetch bluff behind it on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Viewing Perrigo Lagoon walking the beach back to Ebey's Landing State Park in Washington

Arriving back at Ebey’s Landing, we were both feeling hungry so I suggested we go back to Greenbank Farms for lunch. It was not too much farther south than our next stop so it made sense to go there. I was still looking for that piece of pie. Unfortunately I’m still looking. When we arrived, we were informed the restaurant was closed this day as well, but would be open tomorrow. That’s twice. Not going back tomorrow.

We ate some snacks we had with us and headed to our next stop in the Ebey’s Landing Historical Reserve, Fort Casey State Park. It has been a long time since I visited Fort Casey. I had been up to the nearby conference center a number of times in my college years as the center is owned by SPU, my college alma mater. However, it’s been probably close to 40 years since I have been back.

As we drove into the park, the area seemed a lot cleaner and larger than I remembered. The park was busy, busier than any of the parks we had been to on this trip. There was even a busload of kids from some local summer program here for the afternoon. Kites seemed to be a popular activity, and it was a great place for kite flying as a fairly consistent wind was blowing and keeping us cool.

  • A group sits at a picnic table while Four kites fly overhead at Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • A man stands in the field din front of the batteries at Fort Casey State Park while two kites fly overhead
  • People walk towards the military batteries at Fort Casey State Park in Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve in Washington
  • Looking at the large military batteries at Fort Casey State Park in Washington while kites fly overhead

We headed over to the batteries and explored them. Fort Casey is the third of the three forts built to help guard the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the entrance to Puget Sound. Fort Worden and Fort Flagler on the Olympic Peninsula are the other two which we visited last fall.

In many ways the batteries were similar to the ones we had seen before, but it’s always interesting to check things out and read the information that is provided about the guns and the way things were handled. Kids especially enjoy running around inside the dark rooms below as they can be pretty dark and foreboding in places.

  • The two levels of the batteries at Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • A distant view of a gun and the batteries at Fort Casey State Park in Washington
  • A large mounted military gun at Fort Casey State Park in Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve in Washington
  • A military gun viewed from the back at Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Looking through the barrel of a large military gun at Fort Casey State Park in Washsington
  • A tower connected to the batteries at Fort Casey State Park in Ebey's Landing Nationa Historic Reserve in Washington
  • Old metal pieces in the store rooms at Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Stairs leading up from the store rooms at Fort Casey State Park in Washington
  • Over the doors to store rooms is the name John Trevor for whom this part of the battery was named
  • A smaller gun at Fort Casey State Park in Ebey's Landing Nationa Historic Resrve on Whidbey Island
  • Looking out over the military base of Fort Casey and the scenery beyond on Whidbey Island, Washington

We eventually wound up walking along the edge of the bluffs again although it was not so high up and much flatter than the bluffs at Ebey’s Landing. We came across a place I don’t think I had seen before. There is no information about this particular concrete structure that was sticking out over the bluff. Rails on the floor would indicate that perhaps something was rolled out, perhaps a gun, but we didn’t really know.

  • Looking down on the beach below Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Metal tracks run along the bottom of a narrow concrete building on the bluffs of Fort Casey STate Park in Washington
  • A narrow concrete building with views out over the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Fort Casey State Park in Washington
  • Two people walking the beach near the trail leading down to the beach from Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington

After walking along the wide stretch of mowed grass that served as a trail along the bluff, we headed over to the other iconic building at the park, the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. Visitors can go up into the lighthouse tower as well as into the keeper’s residence. At this point I was starting to feel tired so I didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to go inside.

  • Looking across a large field of grass to the distant lighthouse at Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • The Admiralty Head Lighthouse at Fort Casey State Park in Ebey's Landing Nationa Historical Reserve in Washington
  • The lighthouse tower at Fort Casey State Park on Whidby Island, Washington
  • Admiralty Head lighthouse and keeper's quarters at Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington

We were also distracted by a boat, a huge military ship actually that was sailing out of the strait towards the Pacific Ocean. There were three small boats around it, for whatever purpose. Someone said it was the USS Nimitz. I don’t know if that is true or not. I got out my telephoto lens to see if I could get any identifying information looking through it, but it didn’t help much.

After that excitement was over, we headed back to the car. I really was starting to drag so we stopped and got some pizza near Coupeville. After eating that I felt a little more energetic so we took off to our final destination for the day in Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve, Fort Ebey State Park. This turned out to be a large park. A ranger even asked to see our Discover Pass which had not happened at the other state parks. We drove over to a small parking area near the water and got out to walk the beach.

This was an interesting beach as there were areas of gravel like pebbles, others of sand, and then near the water, areas of large rocks that was difficult to walk over. We walked down the beach for a ways and discovered a place where there were large slabs of concrete. I think they had fallen from the bluffs above. In fact there was a concrete slab about halfway down the bluff. I don’t know what this was from, but since the park had apparently been a fort at some point, perhaps it was some kind of structure from that.

  • Looking across the water from Fort Ebey State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington
  • Larger rocks cover the beach as we look toward the bluffs at Fort Ebey STate Park in Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
  • Rocy and sandy beaches below the cliffs overlooking the water at Fort Ebey State Park in Washington
  • Dirt and rocks slide down the cliff along the beach at Fort Ebey State Park on Whidbey Island in Washington
  • Some people enjoying the rocky beach at Fort Ebey State Park in Washington's Whidbey Island
  • Large chunks of concrete piled together at the base of a bluff at Fort Ebey State Park in Washington
  • A large chunk of concrete in the middle of a slide area along the bluff at Fort Ebey State Park in Washington
  • Houses along the bluff beyond the edge of Fort Ebey State Park on WHidbey Island in Washington

Since I had my telephoto lens on my camera, I was enjoying taking photos of boats passing by as I could get nice close ups of them. The whale excursion boats were quite full. The clouds added interest as well so it seemed a perfect combination for taking some beautiful photos.

  • Bright clouds stand out against a dark cloudy sky as a sailboat floats on the sound along Whidney Island, Washington
  • A crowded boat heads back to shore in the evening light near Fort Ebey State Park in Washington
  • Clouds fill the sky above a large tour boat moving past Fort Ebey State Park in the evening
  • A sailboat passes Fort Ebey State Park under dark evening clouds
  • Two boats, one smaller than the other, face off against each other under a bright cloud near Fort Ebey State Park in Washington

And so our day at Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve came to an end. Tomorrow we plan to go back to do some hiking in Fort Ebey State Park and also go to our final state park on the island.

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