We stayed in a renovated pheasant coop at Pacific Rim Institute and the trails were fun to explore on a rainy morning. See photo for the trail map/key...all in all it was about 3 miles with very little elevation gain. Note that the institute is across the street from the Whidbey Sportsmen's club and on a Saturday the sound of gunfire was constant. 

After wandering around Coupeville and filling up on baked goods at Little Red Hen we went to Ft. Ebey and made a 4 mile loop by parking at the north parking lot and hiking the Bluff trail and making our way back through the forest trails. It is very helpful to have a map here, as there are many loops and trail intersections. The difference in landscape between the bluff trail and the forest was interesting and we only saw a handful of people on the trails. 

After reading Mt. trip report after another warning about bugs and break-ins, I decided to try something near the water.  It was a perfectly beautiful day on Whidbey Island.  I parked at the gun battery and hiked south on the bluff trail.  The trail meanders in and out of the trees and brush, but there are plenty of spectacular views.  You can even see the north point of Ebey Landing just to the south.  My route then took me through Cedar Hollow, a section of the Kettles Trail then back on Hokey-Ka Dodo to head north on the bluff trail.  Hiked up to the Beach access by Pondilla Lake where the Beach called to me for lunch.  Then back to the car for a 5.5 mile hike.  There are many more miles of trail to explore here and I will be back.  Oh, and don't forget to check out the gun batteries.

Maps are available by the kiosk at the Gun Battery and there are picnic tables and restrooms.  If you prefer flush toilets, then park at the Beach access by Pondilla Lake.  Discover pass is required.

  Fort Ebey's is a very nice state park in Washington State but unless you are a local it takes effort to get there as it is located on Whidbey Island. The park has an extensive trail system for Hikers and Bikers but no Equestrians but these trails do hook up with an Island County Trail System called The Kettles. These trails allow horses as well but heed the signs that tell you what can and can't be on the trail.

  A reminder that there are lots of ups and down within the State Park and The Kettles Trail System. The Kettles are large deep depression in the ground created at the end of the ice age so the trails follow a lot of them and you will find step areas where you will have to get off your bike to push it up unless your are in the best of shape with an ebike. There are like six state parks on Whidbey Island to checkout allowing lots of recreation and not that crowded except for Deception Pass which is really crowded six months out of the year. A very nice area to hike and bike so come checkout Whidbey Island.

Checkout the video of this hike by clicking on the link below or check out my VIMEO Channel with a seperate link below that of over 450 trails I have hiked and bike throughout Washington State and beyond.

As always get out and see this beautiful state and enjoy your hiking.

Take Care,

Mike

So for round two of taking public transit to an outdoor adventure in 2025 (the first time being my trek to Little Mountain in Mount Vernon), I chose to head over the Whidbey Island and wander around the Kettles Trail System and Fort Ebey.  The forecast was dreary and predicted to be windy so where else should one be than on the coast?

For me, I needed to get to the ferry terminal at the Mukilteo waterfront and this meant using Everett Transit.  Luckily, they have reinstated the route just a block from me that will take me to the Everett Transit Station where I can hop on Route 18 that goes to the ferry terminal.  It only runs in the AM for a few runs and then again the PM so I was up early.  From my house, it was about an hour to the terminal which is about twice what it would take to drive but about roughly the same time as riding my bike which is what I would normally do if the Edgewater Bridge project didn't have that route closed.

The ferry was about to start loading cars as I arrived so it was a quick jaunt up the stairs and with my ORCA card I was through the turnstiles and walking across the pedestrian walkway to board the ferry.  Easy peasy.

On the Clinton side, Island County Transit was waiting for me to hop on for the trek up the island.  Island County Transit is fareless and timed to leave and arrive at the ferry with the sailings. The 1NB/1SB runs between Clinton and Oak Harbor about once an hour.  I knew it was about an hour to get to my stop so it was time to pull out my knitting and turn on an audio book.

Studying the stops ahead of time online, I knew I had two options for my stop once we left Coupeville. There was one at Sherman Road which is where I could connect with the Kettles Trail and walk about 1 mile north to the first gate into the park.  The second stop was closer to Libbey Road where you turn into for Fort Ebey and the map said that would be about .7 miles to get to Kettles.  I was more familiar with the first stop area so I thought I would try the second.

The bus stop for "Madrona" dropped me off a short distance from Libbey where Madrona Way meets SR 20 as it snakes around Penn Cove.  It was a few minutes shy of 9am.  From here I had to walk south on a wide shoulder and cross the road without a crosswalk, luckily traffic was not too bad.

There is a gravel parking lot at the corner of Libbey and SR20 and the Kettles Trail System gate was right there, labeled as Kettles Roadside Trail.  Taking this, it was only .3 miles from the bus stop until I hit a gate for the Kettles Trail System.  This section is called the Allito Addition and butts up against the rest of the trail system on the northeast corner.

Weaving through the forest on the north side, it was about 45 minutes to hit the state park road on the Pigeon Ridge Trail.  I jogged south on the gated Point Partridge Road to Princess Run and continued towards Kyle's Kettles and Lake Pondilla on the north end of the park.  The trails had quite a few muddy spots but no real standing water so one just had to be careful not to slip.

Kyle's Kettles put me out on the Fort Entrance Trail and connected with the PNT near Lake Pondilla.  At this point the drizzle had stopped and I could see blue skies through the trees!

It was 3.25 miles in when I was able to drop down to the beach at the marine stewardship area and spot the snow crested Olympic Mountains across the Salish Sea.  I attempted walking the beach south but when the wind blasted me as I rounded Point Partridge, I turned around and took shelter in the forest.  After a snack at the marine trail campsite, I walked the Bluff Trail south to the gun battery overlook where I was delighted to see the bathrooms open and in great shape.

From the other side of the bathrooms, I took a trail up to the road and across to the Water Tower trail.  I hadn't taken this one before so it was cool to see the remaining timbers of the water tower rising from the forest floor like a post-apocalyptic movie.  Water Tower took me to Braveheart which took me back to Princess Run to retrace my steps back to the bus stop.  Although I had seen a handful of people in the parking lots of the park, I saw no one on trail the four hours I was there.

Returning to the bus stop and not waiting forever is probably the trickiest of using public transit.  The 1SB leaves Oak Harbor a few minutes after the hour which means it would arrive at Libbey 10-15 minutes after that (the online schedule didn't have a time for this stop).  I didn't do too bad, arriving at the bus stop area about 12:45pm which I guessed gave me about 30 minutes.  Time for more knitting!

The bus did arrive about 1:20 and it was an hour back down the island as we made stops in Coupeville and Freeland.  I contemplated a side route to Langley on Route 60 but it didn't align well with when the 1SB would get there (I'd be waiting about an hour at Bayview).  But Route 60 also goes to the ferry so I will try that one again when the Bayview Farmer's Market is running so I can put that hour to good use.

The bus dropped me off in Clinton in time for the 2:30 sailing and then it was back on Everett Transit for home.  It worked out well, the first PM Route 18 bus is 3:20 so I only had to wait a little bit which I didn't mind because at this point the sun was out and I could study a Blue Heron perched on the rocks below.

The whole trip was about 10 hours door to door which is about 3 more hours more than if I had driven.  Transit fares (including the ferry) came to $10.25 and gas would probably be about 7-8 gallons (150 miles, I drive an old car).   Because I was using my ORCA card, I only paid for one Everett Transit bus trip instead of two each way because there is a two hour transfer window.  Taking the bus, I had the benefit of noticing all the other stops along Whidbey I might want to use in the future but are not specified online!  And I almost knit a complete beanie.

As a side note, as I was riding down towards the Mukilteo Ferry in the morning I noticed that Route 117 of Community Transit is also running to the ferry.  It connects with the Lynnwood Transit Station making this trip possible for most in the Puget Sound area!

This is a fun destination for all ages: easy trails for hiking, short and long options available, historic buildings to explore, picnic areas, tons of biking trails, and a campground open seasonally.  We hiked about 4 miles on the Bluff Trail, stopping to explore the batteries and bunkers along the way. It was a fun day, and perfect for an outdoor winter adventure.