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Anacortes Community Forest Lands - Little Cranberry Lake — Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

Puget Sound and Islands > Whidbey Island
View of Cranberry Lake from lake circuit trail

Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL) are a little gem tucked away near Anacortes. (I've included a link below with maps of the trail system there). Edelman and I enjoy the trails for their year-round accessibility, as well as the variety of trail experiences. Little Cranberry Lake is our favorite. It includes wetlands, beaver ponds, peek-a-boo views of the San Juans, and a nice little up-and-down circuit of the lake. As Edelman is continuing to convalesce from a health issue, today's six-mile jaunt was perfect. Elevation gain is minimal, but the path around the lake involves some light climbing over large, embedded stones. Very peaceful there. Our route today started from Heart Lake parking area, continued along Big Beaver Pond, then circled above and around Cranberry Lake and back to the parking lot. The trail network is marked by numbered signs, which are posted on trees. It's actually not hard to navigate if you're a map person. Highly recommend printing the maps and following those (aka, old school; aka. geezer method). Happy hiking, all. Google No Kings Oct. 18th.

https://www.friendsoftheacfl.org/maps

The trail itself, lake circuit part
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