The recent rainy spell was helpful for directing my attention away from mountain peaks and reminding me how much beauty is available in the luminous lowland forest around Coal Creek and Cougar Mountain.

I went the length of the Coal Creek trail, through Red Town and out the Wildside trail to Far Country Falls. As usual, the Coal Creek and Cougar Mountain trails are excellent and in good condition, thanks to King County and Bellevue crews. The rain brought down many small branches onto the trails, but only one major blockage, a fallen tree that must be climbed over. That's about 0.8 mile from the Coal Creek Parkway trailhead, about 100 yards west of where the Primrose Trail branches off. It's likely to have been cleared by the time you're reading this.

Today's Coal Creek Trail hike on Cougar mountain was all Whitman College alumni! The classes of 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, and 2010 were represented plus one enthusiastic and very well trained canine companion visiting all the way from Portland Oregon- Rey! It was an easy mostly flat six miles with lush foliage, lots of history, and a waterfall.

Quick Sunday morning walk in the sprinkles along the Coal Creek trails from the western trailhead off Coal Creek Pkwy.  Parking is limited here but free, there is more parking on the eastern end at the Red Town trailhead.  Both have well used but functional sanicans.  Our route was a fairly basic out and back taking the Primrose loop trail east bound and the normal trail back west.  Mileage ended up just under 5.5 miles with not quite 500’ gross vertical.  Trails are generally in good shape, a little muddy but completely passable, a little grown over in places but to be expected this time of year, (just watch for nettles, they got me a couple times - ouch) and some of the metal bridge approach ramps are slippery when wet.

The one other unusual trail issue pertains to the new street bridge over coal creek at Red Town.  I’d heard they were going to include a pedestrian undercrossing so you don’t have to jaywalk across Lakemont Blvd and wanted to check it out.  Well…there definitely is one and it’s fairly easily accessible from the western side.  Except once you are on the eastern side of the road it currently just stops with no access to anything, much less the Red Town trailhead.  Certainly a bit unusual, (I sat there for a couple minutes scratching my head, what am I missing here,)  but that bridge was an emergency replacement for the failing culvert and it looks like there may be a second phase to the project so hopefully that will connect things up.  

The trails are super green right now and run through several impressive groves of big leaf maple.  The main creek is still running fairly strong and the North Fork falls is nice.  Not an incredible amount of wildlife out this morning but a nice assortment of small early summer birds and a big pair of pileated woodpeckers up near Red Town.  The little, native low running blackberries are starting to ripen already too.  A really nice, relatively easy walk through a verdant slice of forest tucked right into suburbia.

Link to more information about the bridge replacement project - https://bellevuewa.gov/city-government/departments/utilities/utilities-projects-plans-standards/utilities-capital-projects/lakemont-boulevard-culvert

Link to more information about the coal mining history in the area  - https://www.newcastlewahistory.org/

21may2024 TUE, a wet morning .. 50s_F, i went to Newcastle WA for a fun "walking in the rain".

~07:10 i arrived and parked at the Coal Creek Village Mall. Then Out i went via "road link connectors" for a walk of ~2 miles of Coal Creek Trail.

~60% of the "road link connectors" were Sidewalks. Traffic was "light - moderate". During my ~2+ hours of walk, encountered only 2 people on the "road link connectors". On the the Coal Creek Trail, saw no other person, but saw a few small birds and heard their singings 👍

Btw, there's Parking (for 2x vehicles) at (A) {as shown in attached_Pic_3}; to get on to the Coal Creek Trail.

Cheers!

My first visit to Far Country Falls, and it was not what I expected. In fact, at first glance it just looked like a moss-covered rocky ravine. But it's really a beautiful spot, quiet and secluded, with many rivulets filtering down between the rocks. I found it hard to photograph, too, so I recommend you go and check it out in person.

All the way from the Red Town trailhead to the falls, trails were lined with bleeding heart, frequently comingled with candy flower (miner's lettuce?). I wonder if these species are symbiotic (I'm pretty ignorant on the subject of wildflowers—trying to learn more).

I got to Red Town via Coal Creek, but don't have anything to add to other recent reports on that trail.