Inside Bainbridge

Up for an adventure? Explore the hidden routes of Winslow this Saturday in a treasure hunt to find Flat Stanley. There will be 10 Flat Stanleys posted along a 2.5-mile walking route on the trails and quiet roads and sidewalks of Bainbridge Island’s downtown area. Participants must pick up their treasure maps between 9 and 11…

Read the full story

Poncho Walks organizer Dana Berg will don her boots tomorrow, March 3, for this winter’s final Poncho Walk, the fifth monthly walk of the season. Berg told me that about 200 people have participated in this year’s walks, with the weather so good that ponchos were rarely needed. And, yes, she plans to do it again…

Read the full story

3:41 p.m. Thanks to countless donors, the biggest Bainbridge Island Land Trust acquisition in its history, with assistance and management from our Park District, is now a reality open to the public. Trail workers are putting finishing touches on the main Hilltop Trail this week, finally completing access to this crucial tract of undeveloped land…

Read the full story

11:50 a.m. GO! Bainbridge, a program of Sustainable Bainbridge, starts a series of winter walks this Sunday, November 4. And none of us needs an explanation of the name of the walking series. Walks will take place on the first Sunday of each month through March, with a goal of helping people stay physically active…

Read the full story

by Martha Makosky When the days have dawned grey at sea level, we’ve been going up into the Olympics and having fabulous hikes in the sunshine. The summer temperatures form a layer of clouds on or near the water that doesn’t extend to higher altitudes. Since the true summer weather started so late this year…

Read the full story

Many of us from Bainbridge Island make regular trips to Silverdale for the shopping, driving from cement lot to cement lot. A great way to make the errand drudgery more fun and shake out those stiff legs is to take a walk on the Clear Creek Trail. Voted the “Best Hidden Hiking Trail” in Evening…

Read the full story

One of the best things about life on Bainbridge Island is our abundance of beautiful parks and trails. Whether you’re up for a stroll with your kids, a brisk walk with your dog, a trot on your horse, a lazy picnic, a rough rumble on your mountain bike, a vigorous hike, or quiet birdwatching, we…

Read the full story

The shoreline and wooded area around this lovely enclosed historic harbor has been preserved as Blakely Harbor Park, a 40-acre site currently under development for recreational use, including picnicking, hiking, kayaking, and bird watching. Former home of Port Blakely Mill, the world’s largest sawmill during the late 1800s, the Blakely Harbor site was acquired through…

Read the full story

The main .25-mile trail of Hawley Cove Park leads through upland forest and down across a series of boardwalks over a large wetland containing some of the biggest skunk cabbage to be found on the Island. Visit in spring for an impressive display of blooming yellow fronds. The short, well-maintained trail ends at a wide…

Read the full story

This quiet, little-visited 120-acre park features a roughly 2.25-mile loop walk through diverse woods and wetlands. Adjacent to a horse stable and arena, the park is often used by horseback riders and features numerous horse jumps (many in disrepair) along its main trail. Manzanita Park is extremely muddy in winter and spring, exacerbated by horses,…

Read the full story

It was raining the first time I visited Hidden Cove Trail, and I was feeling cold and downright foul-tempered trying to find the elusive unmarked entry point to this trail. After wandering around the ball fields with my dogs and nearly giving up, I finally located the trail and walked into a Northwest wonderland of…

Read the full story

My best memory of walking at Fort Ward Park was on a rare snowy day, seeing the surreal beauty of Northwest evergreens like salal and laurel shrouded in white. This unique 137-acre waterfront park on the southwest side of Bainbridge Island offers many rewards. Its 4,400 feet of shoreline along the Port Orchard Narrows afford…

Read the full story

This .5-mile, rough, and often muddy trail meanders steeply through a pretty wooded ravine of towering cedar, Douglas fir, and infinite sword fern along a seasonal creek that empties into Puget Sound. Numerous charming wooden footbridges cross the creek along the way, making it a great place to play “troll.” In our family the troll…

Read the full story

Headquarters of the Bainbridge Island Parks and Recreation Department, this extremely popular multiuse park on the west side of the island is a rare combination of wildlife and human activity. At 90 acres, it contains a 1.5-mile loop path, used from sun up to sun down by joggers, walkers, parents with strollers, dogs on and…

Read the full story

Looking for a short hike with the kids or dogs in the North Madison area? The 10-acre Ted Olson Nature Preserve off of North Madison Avenue is a pleasant place to visit, with some large old Northwest fir and cedar trees. See if you can find the remains of a dilapidated amphitheater with log benches…

Read the full story

A small hidden gem on Koura Road just west of Highway 305, Meigs Park is one of my favorite places for private walks. This 120-acre wetland park contains a complex system of ponds, bogs, and old-growth spruce, big leaf maple, fir, and alder, as well as invasive scotch broom and blackberry. Beavers, owls, hawks, and…

Read the full story

This lovely 445-acre area of upland forest and wetlands in southwest Bainbridge is the island’s second largest tract of undeveloped land. A crucial wildlife preserve, it is home to owls, osprey, bald eagles, wood ducks, coyote, raccoons, deer, and even the occasional bear. A complex system of over 4 miles of mostly unmarked trails crisscrosses…

Read the full story

A beloved island landmark, the Grand Forest is a 240-acre conservancy park with a complex network of flat and at times steep trails, through forest and riparian wildlife habitat, over bridges, and past the occasional picnic table. Most visible from Miller Road, its second-growth forest is among the oldest and largest on the island, which…

Read the full story

A recent addition to the Bainbridge Island Park District, this .9-mile wooded trail connects the Grand Forest trail network off of Miller Road with popular Battle Point Park, which features a 1.5-mile loop path around ball fields, a play park, tennis courts, an observatory, and a large duck pond. Built in 2007 to enhance connectivity…

Read the full story