I visited Pfingst Animal Acres Park for the first time yesterday evening…read more The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council was hosting a Concert at this park featuring Portage Bay Big Band. This park is so pretty, with many tall trees and a rushing stream that apparently is sometimes home to salmon. There is a very short walking trail at this park. My new friend Heather J and I walked along the short trail and up to the pretty stream before the concert started. Heather J is great! I am very glad that we have become friends. I previously lived in Lake Forest Park for 4 years, and I had no idea that this park was here for that entire time! The hosts of this event were very gracious and so sweet and welcoming. Parking here was fairly plentiful, although I took an uber to this particular event. The event was well-attended though, despite the intermittent sprinklings of rain yesterday evening, so both parking areas ended up mostly full by the time that the event was underway. Quite a few people arrived late to this event, so I think if you arrive early like I did to an event here that you would have a good chance of finding parking right in front of this park. I brought a couple of outdoor cushions with me, and Heather J and I sat at one of the 4 (?) picnic tables there. However, many of the attendees to the event brought outdoor chairs, and I feel like this might be the way to go if I attend another event here, since getting a picnic table to sit at is definitely not guaranteed. This was a free event, but donations were requested. I did put a small amount of cash into the donation box. There were no food trucks or any other food for sale at this event. I brought 2 Bobo's Oat Bars from home, one for me and one for Heather J. The Oat Bars are gluten-free for me and vegan for her. If you are considering attending one of the events here, you may want to consider bringing a small snack or two. The garbage cans for trash (from snack wrappers, or from anything else) are located between the park area and the street. My uber driver on the way home was super friendly, and he was so interested in maybe taking his nephews to one of the events at this park that I shared the event flyer with him and he took a photo of it on his phone. So, I made sure to take a photo of the event flyer to post here, too, just in case anyone else is interested. I am also posting a photo of Heather J and I that she took on her phone and kindly shared with me, with the band stage and a small section of this park in the background. Such a nice park. It's fun to explore previously undiscovered outdoor spaces in my local area.

I visited this park with my daughter after she told me about the huge Rhododendrons growing there…read more She was right! The Rhodes are Ginormous! If you are looking for a hike, it's not here, but a beautiful and interesting walk, this is a great place. The far side of the creek ignited our curiosity with its stone built ruins, beautiful trees and the aforementioned Rhododendrons. I wish that I'd brought my camera! Sorry!

This trail highlights one of the things I love about Washington; you can live in an area for years…read moreand then randomly stumble across a little pocket of wilderness randomly on a Sunday drive. This is a great trail for a quick walk. There are sword ferns everywhere, and the trail is clearly marked. We passed quite a few folks on the trail who offered a cheery hello. Every now and again, you'll get a glimpse of the sound and the Olympics rising up above it.

A lovely setting for a neighborhood walk through the forest. Be prepared to share the trail with…read moredogs as many come to walk their pets on this loop trail. Slightly steep inclines which can be slippery when wet, but still doable. Even for kids as you will see smaller ones (maybe 2-ish years) as well as exploring 6-year olds. The space is quiet, calm, reflective and hikers friendly.

This place is pretty and has a cute trail. But you could easily see all of the trails in 15 to 20…read moreMinutes. So if you want pretty views, this is a nice stroll. But if you want a decent walk, you might wanna go somewhere else.

I would say for the size of the park (very, very small) it is really awesome! You cant knock the…read moreplace for not being bigger, thats not how it works. It is well maintained, lots of benches. There is not true toilet at the park though, although there is a port-a-potty that feels pretty well maintained.

Steve and I were in Monroe and were trying to find something to do. We were waiting for some people…read moreto meet at the fairgrounds in town and had some time to kill so we picked this park for a small excursion. It's beautiful being so close to the river and at the time there was fog present which for me I often enjoy as it adds layers and atmosphere at certain times and it did so here. There were also sand bars near the river we went on. The path we used started at another park, right next to Al Borlin and then led us back to Al Borlin. We wouldn't have known the difference between the two parks if it wasn't for the signs posted. We got some beautiful views of the mountains (which I think were the Enchantments) and of the river again from a different vantage point. This park would be great to come to during any of the four seasons as you are bound to get some beauty each time along with the seasonal aspect at work.

We live in the apartments by this park. Every time my 5 year old and I would go, bums everywhere…read more They built a little compound under a beautiful old tree by the creek. At night you can see lighters flicking on and off. Our apartment faces the creek and I hear people screaming at all hours of the night. I would never go there alone. It's sad because it's so beautiful but not safe. unfortunately, the police cant do anything unless they are committing a crime.

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.

Happened to walk through here while waiting to get my tires changed at the nearby Costco. It was…read morenot a great feeling. Several people were using drugs in the park. I walked past and elderly couple and one of the women remarked that she couldn't enjoy the park because she felt like she had to be on watch. The lake is also undergoing some restoration and looks pretty dirty.

The park is located in kind of a shady-ish area. Not the best area, but the folks here keep to…read morethemselves or generally nice. I came here to fish and the lake is rather small. It's not the cleanest and not too many great spots. It's an okay park if you are nearby, but I wouldn't make the trip out here for it.

Super cute park. Great walking paths through this converted golf course…read more Watch out for the gopher holes, I rolled my ankle in a couple. The paths are wonderful, grass covered and wide. They wind around the backside of the park, intermittently bending to kiss the lake before moving on. Mornings are lovely here. It's so peaceful to listen to the wind rustling the cottonwoods and the birds singing. The people you pass are always quick with a smile and a wave. There's good community feel. I really enjoy it here.

This is a great spot to unload the kayak or what ever your water floating device is. It's a popular…read morespot so it can get a little crowed on the boat launch on a sunny day, but most people move along rather quickly. It's an easy drop into the water and you're off to explore the cute lake. The lake has a little island in the center and lots of things on the side to look at, so this makes a great spot for paddling around. There were a lot of people fishing so it must be a good fishing spot too.

Great day of mountain biking. The weather and trails are perfect today. Mostly dry so the roots are…read morepretty easy to navigate.

Paradise Valley is my and my pups go-to for trail running! Trails are all really well signed with…read moremileage and the trails they link up to. Nice variation of hills and flat areas, and so much lush vegetation! Not too crowded early on the weekends or early afternoon midweek.