On a very Rainy day in Snohomish but still needing a little hiking fix we drove to our favorite place DeceptionPass. WHile raining almost all the way to the Pass, imagine our excitment to meet our fellow hikes with no rain. The Loop trail was beautiful and clear for the entire hike, we did the rock summit and loved the view and breeze. Went to the Deception Pass day use area for lunch and then returned home to the still rainy Snohomish.

Today was a beautiful day for a hike at Deception Pass... although I was leading a group of 12 school kids so I'm not sure how people outside of our group felt... We started at the Cornet Bay ELC and came up the backside of Goose Rock Summit Trail, the view was awesome! We went underneath the Deception Pass Bridge and then hiked down to the beach at Deception Pass State park. This hike is always a good one no matter what time of year and you can see tons of wildlife. Even with 12 kids yelling and stomping along with me I still saw 2 bald eagles, a rabbit, and a flock of blue herons. Berries should be in season on the trail in 1-2 weeks.

We like to take this short hike in April or May. Today, as usual, it was delightful. We started at the North Beach Parking Lot, and headed north along the trail which parallels the coast. This part has spectacular views of Deception Pass. Once on the north side, we dropped down to the water. The tide was low and G. enjoyed finding crabs and popping seaweed bladders, while S. found an agate. We walked east until the beach ran out, then scrambled up a steep slope back to the trail. This part of the trail is my favorite. First one traverses open meadows and steep rock gardens, very flowery in the spring. Some of my favorites are larkspur, sedum, camas, and indian paintbrush. The trail then dips to the beach one more time before climbing through woods. The woods are mostly Madrone, and the undergrowth includes western azalea, service berry, ocean spray, and Kinnickinuk. The service berry was in bloom and the azaleas are just starting. The trail tops out on more flower meadows and rock outcroppings at Goose rock, which gives great views from the Cascades to the Olympics. One then has a choice of short trails back to the parking lot.

This is a wonderful area for a family to explore. Rosario Head trail is at Deception Pass State Park on the north side of the bridge over Deception Pass. The CCC museum is closed for winter, but it is definately worth a visit if you go when it's open. Watch the wobbling little tykes on the Rosario Head trail - it's a long drop to the water. There's a nice wooden sculpture and native American legend to read before the final ascent to the top of the Head. Goose Point trail is located at the South side of the Deception Pass bridge on the east side of Hwy 20 (opposite the parking lot). Access is via the trail under the bridge and to the other side. You have a few choices; we started on the Perimeter Trail and went to the other side of Goose Point, then took the summit trail and back down to meet the Perimeter trail. There are lots of big madrona trees on the cliffyish, south side of Goose Point. This is always a great area to spend the day. There is also a very nice wetland trail at Cranberry Lake, and of course the beach, which is home to some of the most colorful beach stones I've ever seen!

The park just south of the Deception Pass bridge is full of easy, rambling hikes in the woods with views out across Puget Sound to the Olympics or, east of the road, to stunning views of Mt. Baker and the wonderful waterways and islands of our Pacific NW. The trail west to the point is in good shape but short. It is disappointing that you hike a mile to get to a parking lot. Much more interesting are the trails east of the road around and over Goose Rock. The signs for the perimeter trail are misleading. The ""perimeter"" is only the curved part of a ""D"". You have to take the lower forest trail and ultimately the Goose Rock summit to get back to your car. On a sunny day like today, however, it was fun just to be outdoors.