They can tell you how beautiful it is. They can tell you about the views. They can tell you about the wildlife. But until you see it yourself you can't really understand what they mean. Dusk. That's the time. I mean, anytime of day, and any day of the year is probably going to provide its own special magic, but there's something special about dusk, and I was lucky enough to spend two dusks there. Let's break the place down and make it more digestible: The Basics Turtleback is a land preserve, set aside with public access by forward-thinking land managers. It's surprisingly hilly and steep in parts, but that affords you incredible views in a few spots, looking out to the ocean and Canada, or back on to the island and farm valley. It's just over 1700 acres and has about eight miles of trails. Rules The North Trailhead has multi-use access: hikers (all days), horses (odd calendar days only), and bikes (even calendar days only). The South Trailhead is hiker-only. No overnight camping, no fires, no hunting and dogs must remain on leash. The dog rule is a huge bummer. Not everyone obeyed it (I was the only one, actually, not that I'm tooting my own obedient horn) but it's the rule. It's a massive pain and the pervasive strict leash laws on Orcas will probably keep me off the island in the future... but I digress. North Trailhead: This is located along Crow Valley Road, adjacent to the Old Crow Valley School (which is now sorta kinda a museum). This is the launching off point for the North Trail, the Turtlehead Trail, and it will eventually junction with the Raven Ridge Trail and take you south to the other trailhead. If you want the North Valley Overlook, Waldron Overlook, or the most impressive view in the preserve at the Turtlehead, this is your trailhead. South Trailhead: South Trail, Morning Ridge Trail, Lost Oak Trail, Ridge Trail, and then access to the middle trails are equidistant from the North Trailhead, things like Center Loop and Raven Ridge. The second-best views of the ocean are around here at the Ship Peak vista and there are loads of benches around. My favorite Crow Valley views are here too, right at the West Overlook. Lots of uphill climbs. It was a cold December trip, and I did almost all of the trails here over a couple of days. I took my time taking photos. There were 4-5 inches of snow on top, but clear at the bottom. Go for the views. It was a strange trip for me, and those vistas are real thinkers. I was lucky enough to get there for dusk on both trips. The dusk at Ship Peak was especially vivid, as there were clear skies and it lit up the sky that night. I looked out over the water and wondered a lot of things. I sat with my dog, leashed, and we talked a lot about our life together. About her favorite people, about where they are, and what they're doing, and we tried to make sense of it all. read more