Since I am interning in Anacortes, and since Anacortes is gorgeous, I'm making time to explore some of the sights while I am there.
Today, we're going to visit Guemes Channel Trails and S.H.I.P. Trails that run near the Anacortes Ferry Terminal!
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City of Anacortes, WA
Parking Permit: None needed
Distance: ~1 mile round-trip per trail
Elevation gain: none
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Parking is at the end of Edwards Way. From Highway 20, turn north on Glasgow Way and at the end turn Left on Edwards and park in the cul-de-sac.
To start, I headed out on Guemes Channel Trail. One of the people I'm working with at my internship recommended it, though she pronounced it weird.
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| Guemes Channel Trail |
For the record, Guemes is pronounced "GWEH-mess". I'll even buy "GWEEMS". The person telling me about it said it like "GWIMES" with a long "i" sound. Then she got annoyed when we all looked at her like she'd grown a foot out of her face. Tell me, where do you get an "I" sound from the word "Guemes"?
Regardless, I decided to check it out. The trail is still under construction -- when complete, the dream is for it to run along the northern coast to connect Washington Park with Tommy Thompson Trail (stay tuned for future Internship Specials on those!). For now, it exists as a small half-mile segment (I think...I forgot to measure when I was out).
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| It's a boat! |
You can easily see the ferry terminal that takes passengers out to the San Juan Islands.
Across the channel, Guemes Island is visible.
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| Island life |
The trail is a short tease and ends quickly. It's a tease, because I'm
pretty sure that right around that corner the wreckage of
La Merced at Lovric's Sea-Craft is visible.
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| Tease. |
La Merced is an old derelict schooner that you can see from Highway 20 as you pass by, but I've never been able to find a good spot to pull off the road and photograph it. I will definitely have to revisit once the trail re-opens or when I have better shoes that are more suited to the beach (I was wearing my nice clinic shoes on this walk...whoops).
(Edit: I've been informed that since my walk and my writing this, the trail has opened all the way to Lovric's, so stay tuned for a follow-up!)
Despite being just a small segment, you can get a feel for the potential this trail has.
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| Trail Potential! |
As I got back to the parking, the ferry was just heading out!
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| They're on a boat! |
Next I went across the street to the Ship Harbor Interpretive Preserve (S.H.I.P.) trail.
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| S.H.I.P. Trail |
This is a nifty little trail that is gravel and boardwalk, with lots of little look-out points to take in the harbor.
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| View of the ferry |
I noticed a lot of interesting metal benches and some sculpture along the trail.
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| Funky beach stuff! |
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| Beach View |
The trail starts off in a wooded area and then opens up to more of a beach-grass clearing as you approach the ferry waiting lanes.
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| Purple! |
The trail goes almost all the way to the ferry waiting lanes.
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| More beachy stuff! |
The gravel trail turns into boardwalk as the trail loops through some marshy stuff.
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| Boardwalk |
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| More Boardwalk |
Next week: Washington Park!
