[Elvis]

I took an opportunity today to squeeze in an unplanned hike. I promised to be home in an hour... maybe a little over an hour, but it ended up being more like 1 hour + 40 minutes. Whoops... sorry honey. Really. About 2 years ago I heard about a short trail in the Lake Samish Park that headed up to an overlook. Today was an almost perfect chance to go check it out. Almost perfect because I had a limited time frame so it became almost a Trail Run, with blurry photos. The trail was quite pleasant for the most part, although it does criss-cross near some power lines / gas pipeline as it switchbacks up the hill. Rather than simply heading back and forth across the pipeline clearcut, it spends a surprising amount of time under the shade of large Cedars and some surprisingly sweet seasonal creeks. I didn't pack the Tripod - although I wish I had... but my time frame wouldn't have allowed adequate set up time anyway, so no loss on that today. Here are some snapshots just so you can see what is there. The view from the upper parking lot:

At the top of the hill is a flat rock which provides a 'territorial view', but not much of the lake. Maybe this is one of the two overlooks, but I'm not sure. Here is the view from the rock:

The trail continues up toward a higher hilltop, but the view becomes blocked by this specific rock location. Here is the view from 'higher up':

This provides a little more distant view, but you lose the small lake view available from the lower elevation. Here is a pic of the Eagle Overlook which appeared to be the official dead-end of the trail (although the website mentions a loop).

And here is the "view" from the aforementioned overlook:

I guess you need Eagle Eyes to see the view. If a hiker had some additional time, it would certainly be possible to hike up to the top of the next hill, following the pipeline clearcut and maybe improve the view situation. Additionally, there seemed to be numerous trail branches - of which most seemed to be shortcuts. It is entirely possible (ok, likely) that there is more to see here than I was able to enjoy with my 30 minute trail run excursion. The trail portions that were in the forest were beautiful, with lots of little creeks flowing today.

Parking can be an issue during the summer months when the park fills up with beach-goers and while the hillside trail will likely be relatively unpopulated, sounds from the lake easily travel up the hillside. If you are in the area one day with a little extra time on your hands I recommend you stop by and check out the neighborhood. Artist Sketch of the trail, estimated about 500 foot elevation gain.

TOPO!map

~E