Trip Report: Dugualla State Park

Yesterday morning dawned cloudy and drizzly -- par for the course in the north sound in January. I had narrowed our hiking destination to three coastal options -- two without a lot of trees in case the windstorm from Friday persevered into Saturday. (Tree in wind = deathly hazard.) I spent the pre-dawn hours looking over weather reports and making a decision. The wind had died down sufficiently, so I look for "sun holes" on the radar. Whidbey Island looked like the best destination, plus it is only a short 27 miles away.
Nurse Log Growing the Next Generation

We headed out to a little known and little used state park, Dugualla. According to WTA.org, this little coastal oasis was purchased in 1992 to save it from logging, and I'm glad it was!

With no amenities, not even a pit toilet, it feels like the Open Space county parks of my Colorado youth -- just a parking lot then a lot of trails. This equals minimal tourism, since most people funnel into the nearby fully appointed Deception Pass park instead. There were only two other cars at the trailhead when we arrived at 11 am, and we only ran into one group of hikers as we headed back to the car.

There's a decent map of the trail system at the information board at the trailhead, but all of the trails are well maintained and clearly marked. There were a couple of trees down on the trail, thanks to the windstorm the day before, but we ran into a volunteer with saw in the parking lot when we were loading up to go. He was there specifically to walk the trails and clear any deadwood off them. It's good to see lots of love for such a little park!
Big Tree -- You Know It When You See It!

All the trails loop around the park  and pass the "Big Tree," which marks the lone spur trail down to the beach.

We started on the wetland trail and looped around, then bypassed onto the big tree trail and then back onto the beach trail to loop back to the water. We took the north trail back to the trailhead to end the day.

If there's been recent rain, bring a hiking pole. The trails all have a steep section that leads to the big tree and beach spur. These inclines are a bit slippery when muddy. I forgot my poles and was able to get down without slipping, but it would be really easy to end up with a muddy bum or twisted ankle!

Our Picnic Spot

We got down to the beach just at high tide, so beach walking was a no-go. All was well, though, as there was plenty of driftwood logs to use as an impromptu picnic spot on the narrow beach.
Casualty of the Windstorm

Overall, this was a nice winter hike. There was very little garbage and human impact was pretty well managed overall. A little slice of nature away from the big crowds!

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