Paradise Valley Conservation Area

Paradise Valley Conservation Area is located off of Paradise Lake Road near Maltby and features several miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Today we decided to complete a three mile trek including the Whispering Firs, Cascara, Mainline and Red Alder Trails. Most of the trails are in good shape but there is a lot of standing water and mud on the Red Alder trail. We noticed many mountain bikers that were unable to get through some of the muddy areas so that should give you some idea of how muddy it is. We had a difficult time nagivating the trail in these areas but completed the 1.3 mile trail as part of our loop. The trails we hiked today were mostly flat with some very moderate ups and downs.

This is a really nice place to hike or stretch the legs if you don't mind sharing the trails with mountain bikers. The park doesn't offer waterfalls or lake views but there is still a lot to like about these trails. In the event you don't bring a trail map with you, all of the trail intersetions are well marked with mileage amounts so you can put together a hike with as much distance as you want. Right now the trillium are blooming in two different colors and we found lots of other interesting things, inluding blooming foxglove and a shelf fungus that was easily a foot across. All in all, this is a very interesting place that we will be visiting again.

If you are interested in a map of the trails at the park, here is a link:
http://www.co.snohomish.wa.us/[…]/PVCA_TRAILMAP_5-4-10.pdf