Only twice in my life have I encountered multiple wild snakes in an approximately 20 minute window…read morewhile hiking. The first time was in Montana while I was conducting geology field work, the snakes that time were rattlesnakes. This time I encountered two garter snakes here at Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary while hiking the Perimeter Trail (South portion of the trail). The first one I heard surprised me because it was right next to the trail. The second one was making noise while traveling through brush on the side of the trail as well. That cutie I managed to get a picture of. The edge of the water in the sanctuary is full of cattails in a number of places. At one woody portion of trail I noticed a gnarly tree by the water and decided to venture closer to check it out. I noticed a Hummingbird high in the tree by some cattails. Just this morning back at the house the hummingbirds were collecting the stuffing from cattails to use for nesting material, fun to encounter another hard working hummingbird the same day in a wetland setting. I made my way closer to the water to get a better look and heard a critter flop into the water, twas a big amphibian I managed to miss with my camera. Song birds sang and water fowl called throughout the duration of my visit here today in the mid-afternoon. A carved wooden sign is located at the driving entrance/exit to the park and is artistically well done, evoking a sense of magic that I have found to accompany wetland and heathland biomes. The parking lot is small to medium in size, but there were a number of open spots so it wasn't a problem on my visit. Next to the parking lot is a restroom building that was closed today, I'm guessing due to COVID-19, a grassy picnic area, a map of the trail system, and some signage with information about the sanctuary. There are two main trails through the sanctuary: the Interpretive Trail which includes interpretive signs, and the Perimeter Trail which goes around the perimeter of the sanctuary. I hiked/walked the southern portion of both of these trails and found them both to be very well maintained. Garbage cans were located along the trail, which was convenient. Elevation gain was not immense, but it was also not completely flat. I encountered a number of soloists and groups out walking/adventuring while I was here this afternoon. By the time I left at about 3 p.m. traffic started picking up. Overall a fun experience and place to explore.

I've been working in Everett for 20ish years and had no idea this place existed. It's not located…read moreanywhere near downtown, but I was very surprised to have never heard of it. A friend recently found it on the all trails app when were seeking out a place for an easyish hike/walk. I was amazed to find this located so close to Boeing, but should probably have realized there is a lot of nature in this area. There is a small parking lot, a big sign marking the entrance and maps/informational plaques to help guide you a long. The inner loop is mostly boardwalk and goes thru a cool rock type structure. Benches were placed intermittently. The outer loop is slightly harder to locate and navigate and does incorporate part of the sidewalk. The combination of both loops is less than 2 miles and takes about 35 minutes. This seems like a great location for a break in nature during your work day. I hope to make it back here again in the future.

The Deering Wildflower park is a pleasant place to take a stroll. The easy 1/2 mile loop takes you…read morethrough a native woodlands that makes you feel miles away from civilization. There are several side trails that will give a walker options to vary your routine. A bench at the pond offers a very nice spot to watch for birds and admire the view, or to read your book while soaking up nature. The parking area is at the end of the road, easily found and well marked.

If you're looking for a little escape that's close to home this is the perfect park…read more Keep in mind that it's not a well traveled hike and there's going to be a lot of mosquitoes and spider webs etc. It also is not well kept up. The trails can be narrow with growth of different plants and trees. It would be nice to see some clearing so that we can see the pond better. Without all being said it's a bit of a magical place because of all the native trees and plants abounding. If it was better kept up I would give it a five-star review.

When I arrived at Southwest County Park this morning, about 7:40 a.m. on Thursday 18 May 2023,…read morethere were already two cars in the parking area on Olympic View Drive. By the parking area is a main sign with park information and a map of the trail system, which includes an inner and an outer loop, with a marker for where the sign is located "You are here" on the lower left. The sunlight was a little more golden/yellow than normal due to wildfire smoke haze. The air was warm and birds sang throughout out my walk around the outer loop. They flitted from branch to branch and rustled about in the brush on the ground. I encountered juncos, song sparrows, rufous-sided towhees, a rufous hummingbird, and a gray squirrel while walking. Wildflowers were in bloom and salmonberry plants bore both blooms and not yet ripe fruit. For the outer trail, I found the path to be relatively flat and easy to traverse. I paid attention to road positioning as I walked as I could glimpse it through the trees at different points on the trail. It started on my right (I went counterclockwise around the outer loop), so I knew I was nearing full-circle when it switched back to being on my right again. I missed the parking area by one side trail and ended up coming out at the end of the lot instead of the main trailhead. Fun park to enjoy the wilderness.

This is an interesting little area just off the road. You can do a few little loops or take the…read moreadventurous route and go off the map (but still on clearly used trails) and get a bit more distance in. I lost reception so my phone stopped tracking me accurately, but I got 3 miles or so in with the looping shown below. So, check it out if you are driving by and want a quick dose of greenery. Bottom line: This is not a destination to add to your nature bucket list, but it is worth pulling over for to get some fresh air and a few calories burned if on your way to or from Mel and Mia's.

A diamond in the rough that we stumbled on by accident. Plan to spend more time there exploring…read morethe trails.

These are some nice trails to roll your mountain bike on. I hopped onto the singletrack trail and…read moredang: It was a doozie within seconds. The skinny trail almost immediately points upward. In fact, there were quite a few times, where I just had to pull my feet out of the pedals & walk a little. Overall, I probably had to walk about 10 times going uphill. But---once you turn around. The roller coaster is on! I'm a bit of a fraidy cat, but I barreled down the trail pretty fast. I'm not a veteran of singletrack, so I had to really look out for roots, big rocks, holes, etc.---cuz I didn't want to eat it. So it took about 20min up this trail and about 5min down. It was a workout and hella fun downhill. There are a few ladder bridges and other types of bridges on the single track trail. If you want some serious dirt, give these trails a try. I also took the road/bigger trail which is at the very bottom of the gulch/valley. This is more of a road, and it's fairly straight and it goes up from the trailhead (paralleling the train tracks). So, there is talk of selling off this land for development. That would be a total shame Check out the website for this area and get the lowdown on this trail system's future. Hopefully Mukilteo will by this area and keep it as a cool place to hike and ride.

My dog and I love it here. Expect a work out, as the terrain is tough at times. If you do it right,…read moreexpect to come home dirty as well. Many different routes to explore, some signage can be helpful for those without an internal compass or electronic navigation, I just wing it. Some birds otherwise pretty quiet, not Many others on the trails, mountain biking to the North looks very thrilling, suggesting boots for hikers as it can get pretty muddy, have fun!

The entrance to the Big Gulch Trail system from 92nd Street Park is steep, something to keep in…read moremind if afraid of heights and/or steep inclines. Stairs provide a way down, however there is no railing. There are other less-steep entrances to the trail system from different directions. Parking is available at 92nd Street Park if adventuring there as well. Throughout the trail system I have found singing birds, waiting spiders, quiet squirrels watching hikers/walkers as we pass under the branches of the trees they are perched in, and colorful vegetation. A high sensory input experience of a good kind. Tall trees filter out much of the direct sun rays, perfectly providing shade and a reprieve from warmer temperatures in the sunlight on a hot day. Fun and relaxing place to tune-in to nature.

An amazing secret spot to swim and get away -- BUT, we've had stuff stolen EVERYTIME! From our…read morestrawberries being stolen, to 2 ciders, to cash from our wallets, and even a phone. BE CAREFUL! It surprises us everytime since it's so peaceful but we've learned our lesson. If you swim, carry your belongings on you! Still one of our favorite spots!

Love it. They did a bang up job of creating the new park. Great for all ages and finally a place to…read moreswim in kenmore

What a beautiful creek! I walked the North Creek Trail earlier tonight for the first time, with a…read morecompanion. It was an interesting trail, and I felt a sense of wonder, awe, and adventure while traversing this trail. There is so much natural beauty to see here! I found myself wondering if walking on this trail may be defined as "urban hiking." I googled urban hiking, because I'm quite unsure of how it is supposed to be defined, and I am still wondering if this experience fits the definition! My companion and I pulled in to the address for this trail that is listed here on yelp, so we started walking on this trail next to the middle of the creek, at the part of the trail that has the creek on one side of it and parking lots and office buildings on the other side of it. We walked up the short entry trail from the parking lot, and we took a right and walked all the way past the larger bridge with the wooden beams overhead. Then we turned around and walked all the way back, and passed our initial starting point. I'm very glad we didn't just head back to the car when we had reached our starting point again, because in my opinion some of the most beautiful parts of the creek were located in this section of the trail. At one point the trail meanders through a thicket of blackberry bushes, which are thick on both sides of the trail. The trail is wide enough that we were able to stay in the center of it and not worry about getting poked by blackberry thorns walking through that section, and I saw tiny beginnings of blackberries on a few of the branches. (Blackberry season is a ways off still.) For the sections of this trail that we chose to walk on today, a large part of the trail was gravel, and another large part of the trail was paved. I definitely did not need to be wearing my hiking boots. There was little to no incline, and the trail was fairly wide at most points. There were quite a few roots crossing the trail though. There were 4 or 5 bikers during the hour or so that we were walking on this trail. The bikers that were coming up behind us yelled out "on your right" or rang their bell, so that was nice. There were about 4 or 5 other people who were also walking on this trail whom we passed as well. We saw two geese floating on the water, and we saw two tiny birds in the trees. We also heard the birds chirping for a bit as well. It was a lovely sound. We ended our exploration of this trail at the smaller bridge towards the end of the creek, and we finally reluctantly headed back towards the spot where we had parked the car, as it was about to get dark. I loved how the creek wound around several large green areas in the middle of the water, with abundant long grasses waving all over them. This was one of the last sights that I saw on this trail tonight, and it was magical! I would love to walk this trail again, but I am planning on exploring several new-to-me hiking trails and walking trails this year, so I'm not sure if I will be back to walk this trail again anytime soon. But I am very happy that I chose this trail to walk on tonight!

Lovely trail next to a creek and ponds. Beautiful forest so close to neighborhoods. Still getting…read moreused to how green WA is compared to my former home in CA. Absolutely gorgeous. This trail also has several spots with picnic tables and I even saw one bbq. The trail is shared with dog walkers too. I am not sure if the trail loops as I walked about a mile and half than turned around to head back towards my car. If you're visiting the town center this trail is a nice refuge that brings you into a lovely natured area. No restrooms on the trail. So, be aware. Happy adventures and happy Yelping.

This is a beautiful park serene park bang in the middle of the city. A little oasis of sorts! The…read moreonly thing I would improve is better signage. We got lost and went in circles, for a bit on our hike, trying to find our way back. Other than that, I highly recommend it!

This is a great place to stop and explore the creek and do a bit of hiking, especially if you have…read morea few little ones in your party. There are great views, lush greenery, and interesting exploration options within a short distance. There may be raspberries available for picking depending on the time of year. Check out the history of the park via installed kiosks and enjoy the nature preserves available at the Boeing Creek Park.