Stu says:

This is a stunningly beautiful hike through pastures, wildflowers, sea bluffs, forests, and beaches.  This will be a family favorite forever.

There are two places to start this hike.  Ebey’s Landing is right down by the beach, but you need a Discover Pass to park there ($35/yr or $11.50/day).  We parked in Sunnyside Cemetery instead, which requires no pass.

The first three quarters of a mile are flat walking through beautiful fields.  We saw a deer and a bald eagle.  The trail is quite popular, so be ready for lots of people wishing you a happy Father’s Day (if you’re a father and it happens to be Father’s Day, like when we went.)

When the trail comes to a T at a stunning vista above the sea, turn right.  You’ll be sorry if you go left, because you’ll be saving a brutal uphill climb for the end of your hike.  The views are incredible on a clear day.  You can see all the way out the Straight of Juan de Fuca.

Flutie says:

I agree – on a sunny day, this is nearly a perfect hike. It has everything one could want – a flat, smooth path; unbelievable Sound views; purple, undulating wildflowers; groves of trees to respite beneath; a long, rocky beach to scavenge seashells from; logs for lounging whilst sipping one’s flask-wine; quaint historical buildings to mosey through; and even a port-a-potty at the start and the finish – double happiness!

 

 

The hike starts in a cemetery, which I find ideal. Walking past other folks’ final resting place makes one instantly appreciative of one’s own upright status. You breathe deeper, walk bigger, all-in-all feel more alert, responsible, even wise.  I mean, here you are – out and about – living your best life, damn it!

 

On this particular day, though, my joy at being alive ebbed about five minutes into the hike. Rustle had already pilfered my hat; Seashell had put on too much sunscreen, rendering her squint-eyed and in need of my cute sunglasses; and Jetta had found another pair of shades off the floor of the car I could use, but they read FUCK ME in the sunlight, which is not usually the vibe I like to emit as I sashay down the National Park path with my kids.  

Despite the lewd glasses and my resting-bitchy-face, the sheer beauty of Jacob Ebey’s homestead renews ones desire to carry on. I dare say we were all rendered quite speechless by the vast panorama stretching ahead.

We let our minds relax, sinking into idyll-ease while our legs carried us along, until we arrived at The Edge. Edges are one of my five primal fears (the others being speed, motion, loud noises, and ironically, sudden-onset blindness), and for one portion of this hill-top meander, the path presents a ‘severe, plungy scenario’. The danger zone marred an otherwise leisurely course, granting Ebey’s Landing the very Mary Poppins-ish rating of: ‘Practically Perfect in Every Way’.

Once my crew had safely trekked beach-side, we lingered, drinking wine and eating cheese and crackers on a log. Stu kept his nose down, insistently fiddling with some phone app that tries to identify all the mountain ranges nearby.

It was at this point in our walk that Seashell, still suffering from sudden-onset blindness, also became quite queasy (undoubtedly from ferry-food consumed on the ride over). She spent the last hour of our walk silently barfing into the sea grass there beneath the billowing bluffs.

As such, Damon and Rustle went back for the car STAT and there was no celebratory after-trek-tipple. Yet I will divulge that the pie at Whidbey Pies & Cafe at Greenbank Farms is the best I’ve ever had. So, once you’ve revisited the cemetery (weary and subdued now, there among your ancient kindred-spirits), head for pie post-haste!