Miles: 3+ miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: negligible (gully goes up about 75ft)
Favorite Eats After Hike: Ultra House, Front Street Grill, 3 Sister Market, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike Details:
Double Bluff is a stretch of beach on the south end of Whidbey Island perfect for a gentle stroll, exploring Puget Sound geology or taking your dog to stretch the legs.
My hikes:
9/18/2021
I don’t mind hiking, backpacking or camping in the rain. Born and raised PNW here. But the older I get, the less likely I am to want to leave the house and get out of the car at the trailhead and START in the rain for a weekend trip knowing it may rain the entire time.
So, we opted for a day trip to Langley for THE best ramen (gluten free noodles) at Ultra, yummy chocolates at Sweet Mona’s, picked up some bottles of dry cider at the market (Misfit Island Cider) and took a stroll on Double Bluff under partly sunny skies before the rain came back.
The tiny parking lot was full but we snagged a spot as someone pulled out. Yay!
It was crowded at the beginning (usual) with dogs and their people but the cool part today was all the kiteboarders! So many colorful kites out on the water.
After about half mile we pretty much had the beach to ourselves and walked about a mile and a half. Another unsuccessful attempt at finding a mammoth tooth but I did spy a fossil imprint on the Chuckanut Erratic (the spray paint is thankfully fading) and some cool formations on pieces that are showering down from the clastic cliff walls (if you haven’t picked up the WW Geology Underfoot book it is a must).
We were able to see the Seattle skyline off in the distance for our walk in but it was GONE on the way back. Guess those DAWGS got a bit wet today.
Our timing was perfect as the rain was back on by the time we got to the car!
11/10/2018
After visiting the Waterman Erratic in the Saratoga Woods trail system by Langley, we headed over to Double Bluff for some more geological formations that are shared in the Western Washington Geology Underfoot book.
We lucked out with a space in the parking lot and it obvious that this is dog friendly location! The beach was full of people walking Fido, clamming and dodging all the jellyfish washed up on the beach.
We made it to two of the stops listed in the book, the first and second one for a total walk of about 3 miles. The yellow-tan clastic dykes and varying grey folds of the Olympia beds, Lawton clay and Esperance sand were interesting to see as we walked along. Clastics happen during earthquakes when finer grain of sand are liquefied and rise, penetrating into overlying rock layers.
We found the Chuckanut Erratic about .4 miles down the beach from the parking lot (stop #1), unfortunately someone has done some spray paint work to it.
There was a gully about a mile in (stop #2) where the book says you can climb up for a closer look at the striations in the bluff but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have shoes good for digging in, the sand is very loose and the slope was steep. Slipping in the gully would mean landing in a patch of blackberries! The kids made it up higher than I did but the view back to the water was nice.
The book was right, the bluffs see quite a bit of change with all the erosion. We didn’t find any mammoth teeth in the debris but it was a great time all the the same.
Please note: the bluffs are in a constant state of erosion and can be unsafe to climb. Also, I later learned on the county website that the bluffs themselves are private property. I’m not sure how far up or if the gully is included in that notice.
Directions: From the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry, drive north on SR 525 and turn left onto Double Bluff Road. Follow this to the end into the small parking area for the park. This can be a very busy hike on a nice day and cars will line up along the road. Bathrooms available and this is one of few dog friendly beaches on the island.
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