Went cycling on Guemes Island over the weekend and stopped to hike the Guemes Mountain trail. We rode our bikes onto the small ferry in downtown Anacortes, which only has room for 10-15 cars and takes 5 minutes to cross over to the island. It seems like the car line to get onto the ferry can last for several sailings on a busy day, so biking or walking on is a good option.

We arrived at the trailhead around 10:45 AM and parked our bikes on the bike rack at the trailhead. There is only parking for 4-5 cars at the trailhead, with a small overflow area for another 2 cars down the road. When we arrived at the trailhead there was a Skagit Land Trust work party starting to work on trail maintenance. We helped them haul a few buckets of gravel part of the way up the trail and then continued on.

The first half of the trail was heavily wooded and mostly featured a gentle grade. The trail was wide in many places and was very well maintained. Birds chirping, the wind whistling above, and the shade provided by the trees made for a peaceful way to start the hike.

About halfway up the trail, there are two benches next to a small clearing that offers views to the Northwest of Guemes and several other islands. The foliage becomes much more open as the trail ascends past this lookout. The forest thins out and the trail becomes much more exposed to the sun, and the grade becomes steeper in places.

We pushed on, and soon we broke out of the forest and reached the top of the mountain. There were a few benches at the top to stop and rest and admire the views. A small loop trail circles the summit, offering different viewpoints of the surrounding area. It was a completely clear day with no clouds or wildfire smoke, so we could see snow-capped peaks in almost every direction. Mount Baker rose above the foothills to the East, Golden Ears and Mount Robie Reid could be seen in Canada off to the North, and the Olympics spread across the horizon to the Southwest. Some of the views of the islands were obscured by trees, but it was still spectacular to take everything in.

After taking photos and resting for a short while at the top we headed back down the trail. It took us about 30 minutes to hike to the top and 25 minutes to hike back down to the trailhead. Guemes Mountain was a great stop on our bike ride, especially on such a gorgeous day. The views are wonderful for such a short hike, I will definitely make sure to do this hike again the next time I am visiting Guemes Island.

A lovely hike as already noted by others.

Just one new item:  At the trailhead, you may see a pile of gravel and some small buckets.  We couldn't see any written instructions, but other walkers reported that hikers were encouraged to fill the buckets with gravel and haul them up-trail to help fix low/muddy spots in the trail.  So we did. Community-inspired trail maintenance!  Nice.

Arrived at 11:15am on Sunday. The main parking lot has room for about four cars, and there is an overflow parking lot just a stone's throw down the road that looks like it can fit another two cars. We had no problem finding a space.

The hike is very pleasant, through tree cover all the way until you reach the summit. The trail is very easy to follow and in great condition, with some sections that have evidently been maintained recently. At various points there are benches beside the trail, including a nice viewpoint about half way up.

One very minor obstacle almost not worth mentioning is that a rotten tree appears to have fallen down recently, and has landed on the trail. It's easy enough to just step over.

Currently the tent caterpillars are in overdrive. Many trees are covered in these insects, especially on the top half of the hike.

There is a great view from the top, with a small loop that gives a chance to look in all directions, including some more benches to sit and enjoy watching the world.

Guemes Island is just across the channel from Anacortes, so we look over at it often. Our previous two trip reports are dated September 4, 2018, and July 21, 2021. Today we resolved to revisit the island.

The Guemes Island Ferry Terminal is at 500 I Ave, several blocks east of the big docks used by the Washington State Ferries.

My hiking buddy Marin and I joined the short queue for the Guemes Island Ferry just 20 minutes before its departure from Anacortes, and we had no problem getting on board (Charge cards only. No cash fares. Masks optional. Remain in car. The attendant will come around to process your card.)

The day promised to be super with temperatures in the low 70s, and a slight breeze. But air quality was not the best. Some forest fire smoke was drifting in so distant views were not as clear as on our previous trips, and we detected an occasional whiff of smoke odor.

Once across Guemes Channel we headed north on Guemes Island Road for 1.5 miles, turned right onto Edens Road, crossed the one-lane bridge, and in another 1.5 miles or so looked for the trailhead on the left. There was one other vehicle parked there. Two other hikers arrived by bicycle while we were changing footgear.

We enjoyed seeing again the artistically-done signboard at the trailhead (See photo in my 2018 trip report.) It shows the general outline of the route, and some of the interesting features and the elevations along the way.

The best part of the forest is the section at the beginning that hasn't been logged for many years. There are a lot of tall trees and some ferns and moss. The trail itself, today, was very dry but not dusty.

Because of the continuing dry spell, maple leaves have changed color early again this year and a lot of them already are down on the trail.

There wasn't much to see in the way of wildflowers: An occasional aster or agoseris, a bit of miner's lettuce and thistle, and some larger clumps of pearly everlasting. We did note some colorful fungi (photo.)

As in 2021, a lot of the bushy sea foam blossoms were roasted in the summer heat. They never fully matured, and now are showing various shades of tan.

At the broad Guemes Island summit we took the short "Mountain Top Loop Trail" that leads around the summit area, and we included the side trail at the north end that leads to the north-facing bench.

We could see distant islands and some large container ships at anchor, as well as small craft. In the years since our previous visits small trees have continued to grow, and views of Samish Island are even more obscured than before.

We had the summit area mostly to ourselves (three other hikers) for a leisurely viewing, although we did encounter a few more hikers on the other trails. Some of them were locals who do this hike often.

We saw no large critters today. Only a squirrel, a downy woodpecker, and a flicker. And there were a few swallows swooping around the summit.

On our return to the ferry landing we found a bit of a queue, but it was not a problem and we managed to board on the very next sailing for our return trip to Anacortes.

It was a very enjoyable day to be out. We should do this trip more often.

Beautiful day for a family adventure. Our family with kids, 6 & 9 years, biked on the ferry and rode to the trailhead. To get to the trailhead by bike, we rode along the water before cutting inland towards the trailhead. The trail wasn’t crowded, and had beautiful views at the top. It was a nice easy hike for the family. When we finished the hike, we hopped on our bikes and continued down the road toward Schoolhouse Park before heading back to the ferry. I found a wealth of information about Guemes Island at this website. https://guemesisland.info