Started out at 10:30am from the "Jakle's Lagoon" trailhead off Cattle Point Rd.

Hiked a counter-clockwise loop up over "Mount" Finlayson, along the bluff to the Cattle Point Lighthouse, and back via Third Lagoon and Jakle's Lagoon.

The only two sections of trail that required some attention were the trail along the edge of the bluff (eroding, steep dropoffs), and the trail between the two lagoons (the same issue, plus overgrown). Both could be avoided by walking a bit further inland.

Encountered only a couple of people, mostly around the lighthouse.

My final outing for my New Years celebration hikes was to Mount Finlayson in American Camp. Turns out you can loop this trail, dropping down the east side of the mountain and heading towards Jakle's Lagoon, which is what I decided to do. 

First things first, the parking lot! This thing is pretty small, considering how many people obviously come here to walk dogs, for their daily jog, or just to take in the views. I took the very last spot, and there were probably 15 cars in it, total. When I left, someone was waiting for my place. 

On the trail though, it was very uncrowded. I passed a couple groups, and once that happened, didn't see many groups until getting back closer to the trailhead. The views on the Finlayson side are incredible! In retrospect, it's probably better to go past the lagoon first. That means a steeper climb to the summit of Finlayson, but then you get to enjoy gorgeous, expansive views all the way back to the beginning, rather than ending on a service road, which is what I did. 

There are a couple of trees down on the Jakle's Lagoon side that aren't posing problems to able-bodied adults, but might be an issue for smaller kids or folks who have trouble balancing. 

Otherwise a great ending to my first day of 2019! 

This is a great hike.  Our 9 and 11 year old did a fine job at it.  There are not many hikes like this around PNW...open prairie along the high bluffs above the beach.  We hiked all the way to the light house at Cattle Point and had lunch there below on the rock outcropping.  The walk along the bluffs in the tall grass was beautiful.  The only drawback to this hike is the fact that there is a road right along side you nearly all the way to the light house.  It wasn't noisy but the fact that there is a road so close on a hike in some ways defeats the purpose.  Regardless, it has wide sweeping views.  After the light house we made our way to the road/trail off of Cattle Point Rd toward Third Lagoon and this is the most forested part of the hike.  A great way back to the trail head on a hot day.  The beach at Third Lagoon is awesome and quiet and private.  Some agates were found on this clean gravel beach.  At the West end of the beach we found a non signed trail that we took that crept its way up a bluff and toward Jakles Lagoon.  This passable trail (not sure if it was the right one) connected to the main road/trail that heads right back to the trail head.  Highly recommend this hike. 

A beautiful day for my first trip out to San Juan Island!

I got a late start, hopping on the 2:10pm ferry with my bike in Anacortes and hitting Friday Harbor at 3:15pm. 

At that point, my phone died, and I no longer had a way to tell the time. 

The ride out to American Camp/San Juan Island National Historical Park was pleasant - a fair amount of up-and-down hills, but nothing unbearable.

I stopped by the Visitor Center on my way in to chat with the park ranger, then continued on the path that led past the actual camp and some interesting interpretive signs. I'm normally not much for history, but it was really fascinating.

I finally hit the trailhead, where there were maybe 6 cars. Per the ranger's recommendation, I hit the trail counter-clockwise. Wide open views of the water and sort of grassy balds made the already-easy stroll even more pleasant, and I saw a few deer prancing around on the way.

Long story short, I don't think I quite followed the trail right - it looked as if I had already summited and continued past the peak of Mount Finlayson, but signs kept pointing further to the summit, all the way past the NPS/BLM boundary where I finally stopped, because the NPS map showed the summit far before the boundary line. Perhaps I was just reading the map & signs incorrectly, I'm not sure. I backtracked and took the connector trail, then followed the old service road through the dense forest all the way to Jackle's Lagoon, and then back up to the parking lot. I feel like I might've missed something, but who knows - it was still a great day.

I biked back rather fast, unsure of how much time I had before the last boat for several hours would depart, and eventually found out that I made it back with more than an hour to spare.

Great day on the islands - can't wait to continue this newfound island/bike exploration hobby! ;)

Wonderful first day hike on San Juan Island! Beautiful sunny day, we could even see Mt Rainier!

The trail was in excellent shape and we saw only a few people. 

Terrific start to 2018!