We spent a few days on Saturna Island and we hiked trails and headlands in spring weather.    The longest trail we hiked was the Mount Warburton Pike Trail.  We drove to the parking lot and hiked along the top of the ridge.    Except for the a peak on Salt Spring, it is the highest point on the Gulf Islands and is now part of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve.

The trail is a single track along Brown Ridge, the top of steep open slopes facing south.   The Pender Islands were only 2.5 km away across Plumper Sound.

In spring deciduous trees had not yet leafed out.   We enjoyed exploring rocky bluffs sculpted by prevailing winds.

At the end of the ridge, we had views across Boundary Pass and the San Juan Islands.

There are options to hike down to Taylor Point or loop back on the north slopes, but it was much more appealing to do an out-and-back 8 km route on Brown Ridge.

A Google Earth fly-over of the ridge:

Mount Warburton Pike is one of the best hikes on the Gulf Islands, another good reason to visit Saturna Island.