BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — The 1.5-mile Blakely Hill Trails north of Blakely Harbor have been donated to the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation for public use.

The trail easements have in turn been transferred to the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District for management as part of the island’s public trail system.

The donation is by islanders Ty Cramer and Steve Romein, on approximately 55 acres they recently purchased east of the historic Port Blakely Cemetery.

The name is new, but the trails are already in place and will be familiar to some island hikers.

Informal paths and one of the island’s oldest roads crisscross the property, bounded by Old Mill Road to the north, Blakely Hill Road to the east and Blakely Avenue to the south. The network also includes the popular Blakely Cemetery Trail.

Barb Trafton, foundation executive director, said: The trails meander through beautiful forests and pass the wetlands created by the historic Blakely Mill fire ponds.”

New markers at trailheads are planned, and the trails will be maintained and improved by Park District Summer Trails Crew, funded by the foundation.

Tom Swolgaard, park board chairman, added, “We hope to someday achieve a network of cross island trails running north south and east west.”

Working on that are the foundation, IslandWood, Land Trust, city of Bainbridge Island and numerous neighbors “who have all pitched in to help enrich our community with more places to play and enjoy our glorious Island’s environment.”

Cramer and Romein purchased the property from neighbors and IslandWood founders Debbi and Paul Brainerd. The Brainerds established the Blakely Cemetery Trail, a popular switchback path that snakes up the hillside from Blakely Harbor to the quiet pioneer graveyard.

Most of the 55 acres will be preserved as permanent open space, and the trails allow hiking and other nonmotorized uses.

The trails feature varied terrain, from dense, second-growth evergreen forest to less heavily treed stretches beneath broadleaf canopies. Grades are generally uphill from south to north, with the hike up from Blakely Harbor Park particularly vigorous.

A new trail is planned to connect the existing network with nearby Blakely Harbor Park at a second point, creating another opportunity for looped hikes.

The Blakely Hill Trails addition brings Bainbridge Island’s public trail network to more than 41 miles under the stewardship of the parks district.