As hikers of the Pacific Northwest Trail traverse Whidbey Island on their way to the Coupeville Ferry, the official route from Joseph Whidbey State Park is a beach walk down the west side of the island. This is a lovely walk, but should be done on a tide of 4 or lower since there are several areas where the tide can push you up against the cliffs or even cause you to have to be in the water. The best walk is on an outgoing tide so any sandy sections are on wet firm sand. The beaches on Whidbey change with every tide. Sometimes there are sandy parts but often it is mostly pebbly rocky sections.
Fortunately there are several places where you can jump off the beach and take an alternate route if the tide is not accommodating. Hastie Lake Road, Libbey Road, Fort Ebey State Park, Ebey's Landing and Fort Casey are the five places where this can be done.
From Hastie Lake Road take West Beach Road south to Libbey Road. Turn west on Libbey and you can either rejoin the beach walk if the tide permits, or take the alternate through Fort Ebey State Park. To take the alternate turn south on Fort Ebey Road. You will go up through a residential neighborhood to the old entrance to the fort which looks like a private driveway.
Take that and look for the trail on the left which leads you into the park. Stay on the trail/old road until you reach an actual asphalt road. Follow it to the right (west) and go about a hundred yards and take the first trail on the left which goes to the Bluff Trail. You can also catch the Bluff Trail if you've been on the beach. From the beach you can see the trail go up into Fort Ebey State Park. If you are at all concerned about tide, this would be where you want to get off the beach because Partridge Point is coming up and is one of the places that is impassible on a higher tide. Follow the Bluff Trail south past the old fort battery and campground. From the campground take Kettles Trail which eventually pops you out next to Highway 20 and becomes a paved bike path.
Continue south until you reach the Kettles Spur to Pratt Loop Trail. Take that to Ebey Prairie Trail to Ebey Bluff Trail and back down to the beach at Ebey's Landing.
From here, decide if you will take the beach or an alternate route. To take the alternate head south up Hill Road. To your left you will see a ravine with a weathered gray house at the top. This is the old Ferry House (now owned by the National Parks) which was run by the sons of Isaac Ebey after he was murdered and beheaded by Indians in a retaliation killing in 1862. After his murder his home was abandoned and eventually torn down and the lumber was used to build the Ferry House which lodged travelers coming onto the island from Port Townsend and enabled his orphaned boys to make a living.
Continue up Hill Road past a 75 year old red barn with curious cows until you reach Engle Road. Turn right on Engle and follow that until you see the signs for the Admiralty Inlet Preserve trails.
Admiralty Inlet Preserve is a cool hiking area and preserve of one of the few remaining wild prairie on Whidbey Island. You have a couple choices here. If you are in a hurry to catch the ferry take the path that parallels Engle Road. But the better choice is the bluff trail which is a mere 1/10 mile longer but has great views of the water and Olympics and takes you down grassy paths through corridors of wild roses. When you get to the place where it looks like a driveway goes to the left, take that back down towards Engle Road. But before you do that, take a look at the views along the bluff to your right. There is a placard which identifies the mountain peaks of the Olympics across the Sound and anoth which tells some of the military history on Whidbey.
Once the pathway rejoins Engle Road near Fort Casey, follow the road to the Coupeville Ferry. If you have the time and like old military forts, wander up to Fort Casey. Several parts of this fort have been repainted recently and a couple big guns are still installed. There is also the old Admiralty Head Lighthouse that you can climb up into during visiting hours.
If you want a snack while waiting for the ferry be sure to visit the Keystone Cafe. Friendly staff, good sandwiches, cold ice cream and a cozy outside deck make this a great little stop.
