Great pre work run today linking the botanical gardens to Mctavish which has some nice uphill, and then running back up the hill through the gardens to Wilburton Hill Park. Mileage was somewhere around 5 or 6 miles with 500 feet of elevation gain plenty of beautiful forested trail running to be had with just a brief concrete link between.

Great trails with the kids you can almost feel like you’re hiking in the middle of Bellevue. There’s a nice story walk to help motivate the little ones and plenty of fun waterfalls and bridges to walk over. The trillium are gorgeous right now.

We had a great spring walk through Bellevue Botanical Gardens (BBG), Kelsey Creek Park and the Wilburton neighborhood today.  BBG was crowded with folks enjoying spring blooming flowers and perusing their annual native plant sale.  Parking looked limited at BBG and the adjacent sport field area. This is the perfect time to see early spring flowers in bloom. All the beds are meticulously groomed.   Vibrant colors were popping up in every bed. It was great to see so many wild lilies (fawn & avalanche ) growing amongst trillium, bleeding heart, snow drops and primroses.  I learned a couple new flowers so that’s always a great day.  A fun surprise of the day was a wood duck pair, floating around in the wild pond area.  After completing the Ravine Experience loop we wound down to Kelsey Creek Park which was equally crowded with young families exploring the play structured and farms animals.

Quick walk around the Bellevue Botanical garden trails Friday morning.  Parking is free though can fill quickly particularly on a nice day.  Full very nice restrooms were open and in good condition.  The trails remain groomed walking paths through the beautiful and very nicely maintained botanical gardens and surrounding woodlands.  Spring flowers are just starting to bloom but are well worth taking a look.  The hellebore collection was particularly large and extensive all over the property in multiple different colors.  Don’t miss the very nice Japanese gate and little hidden hobbit house tucked in next to a waterfall.  

With short day light hours and even shorter windows of dry weather this hike offers a nice, quick and close-in hike experience.  There is a decent amount of free parking and taking the peripheral trails with a bit of back tracking I was able to top two miles.  Part of the garden is cultivated and there is always something in bloom there, but the rest is kept "natural" so it really is a walk in the woods (minus the mud).  Once among the trees it's hard to remember you are in a city of 150,000+ people.  Added bonus, the meadow near the entrance building is hosting the "lost birds" art installation, interesting and poignant both.  https://bellevuewa.gov/city-news/lost-bird-project

PCC/TJ/REI are close by and round out your options for post hike activities and munchies, or in my case shopping chores.