Walkabout: Sharpe County Park

Length: One-mile loop (with plans for additional trails).

Level of difficulty: Level-to-moderate dirt/gravel trail.

Setting: Named after the land's father-and-son settlers, this seemingly modest 75-acre park on the southwest side of Fidalgo Island offers a wide variety of habitats and stunning water views. The trail initially dips down into a pretty wetland forest and soon reaches a peaceful lake fringed with cattails and conifers. It then skirts the lake to eventually lead out to two trail spurs on bluffs overlooking the water, with spectacular views of the Olympics and the San Juan Islands.

Maps created by Eagle Scouts are posted at the main forks, but they're not quite correct. It's easy to make it out to the overlooks, but don't rely on them alone on the return trip, or you'll find yourself somehow looping back to a familiar spot you passed 10 minutes earlier. Allow extra time so you're not caught out after dark (the county plans to replace the signs).

Highlights: Don't forget your binoculars — bufflehead and goldeneye ducks ply the lake, trilling red-winged blackbirds defend territories among the cattails, and huge holes in tree trunks are the legacy of pileated woodpeckers. Donations and a state grant have just secured an option to purchase the waterfront property on the north edge of the park, along Sares Bluff, that will add 37 acres to this nature preserve.

Facilities: Portable toilet.

Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect.

Directions: From Interstate 5 at Burlington, Skagit County, take Exit 230 and head west on Highway 20. After 12 miles, cross the bridge to Fidalgo Island, and in a few mores miles, turn left to follow Highway 20 south toward Whidbey Island. After driving by Pass Lake, turn right on Rosario Road, and the park is on the left in 1.7 miles.

For more information: 360-336-9414 or www.skagitparksfoundation.com/sharpe or www.sjpt.org/fidalgo

Cathy McDonald is coauthor with Stephen Whitney of "Nature Walks In and Around Seattle," with photographs by James Hendrickson (The Mountaineers, second edition, 1997).