(由 Google 翻译)南惠德比州立公园 (SouthWhidbey StatePark) 位于惠德比岛 (Whidbey Island) 的西部边缘,是该地区较为安静的保护成就之一。它占地 381 英亩,位于金钟湾上方,是岛上仅存的一些原始森林的庇护所。该公园的存在得益于 20 世纪 70 年代的草根活动,当时居民阻止了清理附近土地的计划。这片被称为 Classic-U 森林的土地最终被纳入公园,保留了数百年历史的花旗松和红雪松供公众进入。
公园的小径蜿蜒穿过茂密的沙罗树、鲑鱼、接骨木和顶针莓林下,阳光透过覆盖着苔藓的大叶枫树。几十年来频繁的风暴——包括臭名昭著的 2006 年光明节前夕大风——已经使树木倒塌,并造成了一种雕塑般的混乱:巨大的根板、倾斜的树干以及经过时间和腐烂侵蚀的护理圆木。在某些地方,二十英尺高的灌木丛堵塞了小路,将一条简单的步道变成了一条身临其境的绿色走廊。
布拉夫步道(Bluff Trail)曾是公园通往海滩的主要路线,现已遭受侵蚀和风暴破坏,目前仍部分关闭。尽管如此,在观景台上仍可以欣赏到奥林匹克山的广阔景色,几乎全年都可以看到秃鹰、苍鹭和鹰。威尔伯特 (Wilbert) 环路和枫树林 (Maple Grove) 环路等内陆小径会经过巨大的树桩和高耸的冷杉,其中一些冷杉的树龄已超过 500 年。
南惠德比曾经有一个简陋的露营地,但在树木学家证实大冷杉和道格拉斯冷杉(这些树高到足以威胁公共安全)中普遍存在层压根腐病后,该露营地于 2016 年被永久关闭。随着夜间使用的停止,公园现在作为一个受到精心保护的日间使用区。其结果是,森林给人的感觉比休闲更适合冥想,更适合观鸟、安静散步,以及带着野外指南或笔记本度过悠闲时光。
与霍河茂密的热带雨林或温哥华岛大教堂般的树林相比,南惠德比更加风化、风倾斜和阳光照射。空气中弥漫着海浪和雪松树脂的混合气味。西特卡云杉出现在奇怪的高地角落,而枫树则在小径上方伸展着巨大的、多臂的枝干。人群很少,没有任何解释性标志干扰体验,只有冷杉树梢吹过的风打破了长时间的沉默。
对于那些想要继续步行前往汤森港的人来说,从公园出发,只需很短的车程或步行即可到达基斯通渡轮码头。 Ebey’s Landing 和 Double Bluff 就在附近,公园内的野餐空地是阅读、写生或静坐的绝佳场所。
这是一片由时间、风和克制塑造的森林。它不会压倒一切。它通过持久赢得忠诚——在道路出现之前、在锯子出现之前、在我们认为每个地方都需要改进之前,它安静的树冠让我们可以瞥见海岸。
(原文)
South Whidbey State Park, set along the western edge of Whidbey Island, is one of the region’s quieter triumphs of preservation. Spanning 381 acres above Admiralty Inlet, it shelters some of the last old-growth forest on the island. The park exists thanks to grassroots activism in the 1970s, when residents blocked plans to clear-cut a nearby tract. That land—known as the Classic-U forest—was eventually folded into the park, securing centuries-old Douglas firs and redcedars for public access.
The park’s trails wind through a dense understory of salal, salmonberry, elderberry, and thimbleberry, with sunlight filtering through bigleaf maples draped in moss. Frequent windstorms over the decades—including the infamous 2006 Hanukkah Eve gale—have toppled trees and created a kind of sculptural chaos: massive root plates, tilted trunks, and nurse logs carved by time and rot. In places, twenty-foot walls of undergrowth crowd the paths, turning a simple walk into an immersive corridor of green.
The Bluff Trail, once the park’s marquee route to the beach, has suffered from erosion and storm damage and remains partially closed. Still, overlooks offer expansive views of the Olympic Mountains, with bald eagles, herons, and hawks visible almost year-round. Inland trails like Wilbert and Maple Grove loops pass hulking stumps and towering firs, some over 500 years old.
South Whidbey used to have a modest campground, but it was closed permanently in 2016 after arborists confirmed widespread laminated root rot in grand firs and Douglas firs—trees tall enough to threaten public safety. With overnight use discontinued, the park now functions as a carefully protected day-use area. The result is a forest that feels more meditative than recreational, better suited to birding, quiet walks, and unhurried hours with a field guide or notebook.
Compared to the lush rainforest of the Hoh or the cathedral-like groves of Vancouver Island, South Whidbey is more weathered, wind-tilted, and sunlit. Its air carries the mingled scent of sea spray and cedar resin. Sitka spruce appear in odd upland corners, while maples spread huge, many-armed limbs above trails. There are few crowds, no interpretive signs intruding on the experience, and long moments of silence broken only by the wind through fir tops.
From the park, it’s a short ride or walk to the Keystone ferry terminal for those looking to continue on foot to Port Townsend. Ebey’s Landing and Double Bluff are nearby, and picnic clearings within the park offer excellent spots for reading, sketching, or simply sitting still.
This is a forest shaped by time, wind, and restraint. It doesn’t overwhelm. It earns loyalty by enduring—its quiet canopy offering a glimpse of the coast before the roads came, before the saws, and before we thought every place needed to be improved.