View from Ebey's Landing is what poems are made of

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NWsource

May 1, 1997

View from Ebey's Landing is what poems are made of

By KAREN SYKES
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

If there were a single word to describe Ebey's Landing, the word would be poetic.

Ebey's Landing is a section of Ebey's Landing National Historic Preserve on Whidbey Island. In any season of the year, it is magic. Hikers often come in pairs. Ebey's is a fine place to fall in love.

Hike the path along the sand bluffs above Puget Sound and look west to the Olympics and Port Townsend on a clear day, but don't stay home when the weather is foul. On a day when the mountains are uninviting, come to Ebey's and let the wind and salt spray revitalize your soul.

The rich, dark soil of Ebey's Prairie, probably an ancient lakebed, is known for being the longest continuously farmed land in the state. The Skagit Indians gardened there long before the sea captains and the settlers came. Once the prairie was blue with camas, which the Skagits raised for its tasty bulbs. Camas still grows there today. The early settlers grew crops of oats, potatoes and onions. Later farmers added wheat, squash and tulips (for the bulbs), plus dairy herds.

Ebey's is a place that will call you again and again. You may find yourself coming back at least once a year to see what winter has done to spit-enclosed Perego's Lagoon below the bluffs, or to watch the sleek dark heads of seals bob up in the wind-tossed waves and vanish so quickly you can't be sure you saw them.

Boisterous gulls hang out at the tide line, hawks and eagles circle above, and the whole world seems hungry. This is a hike anyone in the family can handle, though it's a good idea to be prepared for wind and sometimes horizontal rain.

But wait! Sometimes when it is raining most everywhere else in Puget Sound, the sun makes a comeback in this "rain shadow" area, and you'll almost forget it is winter.

Map Getting there
Catch a state ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island, or drive onto the island from the north over Deception Pass Bridge. Drive Highway 20 from either the south or north end of the island. Three-tenths of a mile northwest of a pedestrian overpass in Coupeville, turn left onto Ebey Road. The parking lot is about 1-3/4 miles from the highway.

Trail detail
This loop hike can be done in either direction, depending on the tide or your mood. Hike the bluffs, drop down to Perego's Lagoon and return along the beach, or try it the other way. A trail climbs 200 feet to the bluffs from the parking area and follows along the edge of a cultivated field.

In much earlier years, boat passengers coming from Port Townsend climbed this steep gully where the trail begins today. Look down 100 feet or so to the most fertile-looking soil you're likely to see in a while, the landscape a checkerboard of young, green crops and soil so rich it is black. Look to the water for a distant ship, and maybe catch a glimpse of the Olympics.

You'll reach a fence in a quarter of a mile. Follow along the fence a mile to Sunnyside Cemetery and tour the headstones of early settlers.

Perego's Lagoon was named for George Perego, a hermit who lived on the bluff before the turn of the century and kept watch for a hostile navy that never came. Ebey's Landing was named after Colonel Isaac Ebey, an early settler who was murdered by raiding Indians in 1857.

The main trail follows along the edge of the bluff for about a mile and a half before a steep trail descends to the north end of the lagoon. Before you descend to the lagoon, stop and pay homage to the trees that live on the edge of the void and survive the storms year after year.

If the tide is high, follow a path through the driftwood and beach grasses that parallel the lagoon back to the parking lot, or walk along the beach and look for treasures.

If the 3-1/2-mile loop isn't enough for you, drop down to the lagoon from the bluff and walk north toward Partridge Point for a longer hike. If it's too cold for a picnic, Coupeville is only minutes away and has plenty of places to wrap your cold hands around a cup of coffee or a bowl of soup.

Trail data
The loop trip is 3-1/2 miles round-trip, with an elevation gain of 250 feet. The hike is easy for children and can be done year-round. For more information, refer to "Footsore 3" by Harvey Manning (The Mountaineers, $12.95).