The newest trail in the gems of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust called to me today. Something short before the day got so hot I didn’t want to go outside. The Strawberry Point Preserve sits pretty far out on the northern end of Whidbey island. It was a great place to preserve. Two people coming together and both protecting huge swaths of land on Whidbey Island that was formerly farmland and forested areas.
The link above has the directions via Google. It doesn’t have a street address, but is well marked with a large sign by the road. The parking lot is huge.
One thing the WCLT is great at is telling the story of each property that is saved.
Right now the trail isn’t a super hike, but on a day where it pushed over 80°, I was OK with that. 0.4 miles each way. Sounded good.
With the cold/wet spring we had here, and only warming up literally on the first day of summer, there was wildflowers popping out all over, in the sunny sections of the woods.
Nearly the whole hike is in open forest. It’s sunlit, with a great understory. And Kirk ahead of me as usual. I get distracted by photos and my short legs.
The tree fell over and was caught by another tree, perfectly balanced.
The level of ferns was sublime.
This forest section had many deciduous trees, sprinkled with Douglas Fir and Hemlock. It’s a moist forest, so not Cedar friendly. I saw a number of Red Huckleberry. Not too many invasive plants thankfully. If one is tall, be wary of some Stinging Nettle. It caught Kirk a few times, but he is a foot taller than me, and it hit his shoulders.
The trail winds up and down, but never bad. It’s still a new trail, so it hasn’t quite been pounded down, so watch out for little stumps, roots and such that want to trip you.
And as you come up to the edge of the forest and into the sun….the trail ends. For now! This fall it should be finished and there will be a loop that continues on, and is a mile loop, plus the .4 in and .4 back out.
At the end of the trail, looking out into the meadow. You can see a path through the grasses, which I won’t lie was tempting. But I was good and will wait.
It’s worth checking out, and will be a great hike once finished.
Parking is free. Dogs ARE required to be on leash. Poop bags and a garbage can for them are near the start of the trail. Feet only, no bikes allowed.
~Sarah