A friend and I decided to take a day trip over to Bainbridge Island to explore. The downtown area is very touristy so we headed out to Grand Forest for a hike.
We parked at the Ft. Ward parking lot and headed off through the trails towards Blakely Harbor. I think someone else mentioned printing off a trail map at biparks.org and I second that. It's a good idea! There are a lot of intersecting trails that are well marked but having a map to follow those is very helpful. The trail started off in the woods and was really nice and well maintained. The elevation gain is so slight that it really isn't worth mentioning. We came out on a road and crossed to do the Blakely Harbor Loop. There was a very interesting painted concrete structure down by the water behind what appears to have once been a pier (lots of old pilings). A bridge led us across to a beach area and then back to where we started from. Once again, we crossed the road and went back into the forest on the same trail we came out on. Taking a spur trail to the right, we crossed a very small foot bridge and hooked up with the main trail. Staying on the main trail at every split, we followed it through the woods and down a hill, coming across some old bunkers as we went. They were interesting and well-graffitied. After pausing for a bit we continued on down the steep hill and the trail dumped us out onto a road. A few hundred feet up the road was a pit toilet and a boat ramp as well as beach access. We sat on the beach and had a snack before continuing back up the hill we came down on. There was a road (the one we crossed) coming out of the trees down the hill that a lot of people were appearing out of and we found out that that came from the opposite side of the lot we parked in. Apparently there was another set of bunkers (gun battery) and barracks along it that we missed. Maybe next time we will go that way!
It was a fun day exploring and as it was a hot one, we were happy to be in the cool woods and on an island where there was a lovely breeze blowing. Afterwards, we headed into town and grabbed a bit to eat at the Harbour Public House. Pretty cool atmosphere with good food and friendly service.
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