Young Hill and Mount Grant sit in the northwest of San Juan Island. English Camp, the northern San Juan Island National Historical Park unit, harbors the former. Then the latter is part of the Mount Grant Preserve.
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Young Hill and Mount Grant at a Glance
Access: English Camp (trail map) / Mount Grant Preserve (trail map)
Round Trip: 6.7 miles
Elevation Range: 20′-736′
Gear: none
Route Info: Walter Blume
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
The Preface
So far, we’ve visited the San Juan Islands since 2018 in the rainy season. The islands are a lovely retreat from the daily grind. But it was only our second time here, where we last visited Mount Finlayson on the south end.
The pups and I left the house early to make the 5 AM ferry out of Anacortes. We reached Friday Harbor past six and drove to English Camp in the island’s northwest corner soon after. Then we started walking at 6:45 AM.
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Young Hill Walk
Besides avoiding crowds, I wanted to beat the bad weather past noon. I also planned to check out Mount Grant, so starting early was a good idea. But most island visitors hang out by the landing anyway.
From the lot, it’s only a one-mile walk over a few switchbacks. En route, we walked across West Valley Road and re-entered the forest soon after. Then it was a quick stroll past the English Camp Cemetery to the lookout area.
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Young Hill Summit Views
The summit boasted open views of Haro Strait and the Olympic Mountains. There wasn’t much to see on the forested north. But the map showed a trail going down that side to the edge of the historical park boundary.
We dodged the wind south of the viewpoint and stayed past sunrise. After seeing a car pulling up while crossing the road earlier, I thought I’d see others here. But other than the breeze, it was dead quiet and pleasant.
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English Camp
After only two miles of hiking, we needed more exercise. So a brief pause back at the car, we went across the parking lot to Bell Point. It’s also the location of the historic blockhouse inside English Camp.
We checked out the old buildings and went onto Bell Point Trail. Then we walked north and east around Garrison Bay before returning to the parking lot. A couple and their dog we met en route went the opposite way.
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Next Stop, Mount Grant Preserve
We drove south and reached the Mount Grant Preserve entrance in five minutes. Shortly, we walked through the gate on the pavement to the fork and turned left. Then we made our way south on Greywacke Trail.
We took the left trail at the second fork to make the hike aerobically effective. Then we stayed on the outer path to the south ridge over a few viewpoints. Soon, we zigzagged our way up through the open forest to the flat top.
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Mount Grant Summit Views
Even with trees around the summit, the peak boasted a near-360-degree view. We viewed the east past the San Juan Channel. Then Canada was only on the other side of Haro Strait to the west.
A family of five came up a short while later, and I chatted with two of them for a while. After staying over an hour, we made a loop and exited on the main road. Despite the sun, the wind chill on top was uncomfortable.
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Leaving San Juan Island
We woke up at 2:30 this morning to prepare for the trip and didn’t get much sleep. It was only noon when we went back to the parking lot. The next ferry wasn’t until four hours later, so we drove out to the dock and napped.
It was perhaps the most cars at the dock in the San Juan Islands. Despite the grim forecast, it had turned sunny in the afternoon. The dogs later slept while I watched the rest of Terminator 3 en route back to Anacortes.
See more trip photos here.