Nice little ramble for little feet. Boardwalks and bridges crossing Kelsey Creek, tumbling rivulets, and swampy wetland. Ceders, maples, and Doug firs. Filtered views of the farm and skyline are found along the eastern loop.  Trails have recently been cleared of debris.

Two friends and I walked a day loop hike through Bellevue Botanical Gardens and Kelsey Creek Park.  We started just before noon, with over cast skies and it was 45 degrees.  We parked in the 2nd level of the gardens upper lot.  The restroom facilities were open.  Many gardeners and lights maintenance folks were busy at work.  Much to our surprise and delight  all the holiday lights were turned on when we arrived.  It was fun to walk around see the intricacies of each light display during daylight hours.  It’s been about 5 years since I’ve seen the garden lights at night so fun to see many new light display additions.  We followed the Takeuchi Loop trail down over the Ravine Experience swinging suspension bridge to the Lost Meadow Trail and connecting trail down to Bellevue International School campus. From there we walked surface street sidewalks (128th AVE SE & SE 7th Pl) directly into the south end of Kelsey Creek Park. Following the gravel path to the south around the barn and pasture areas we headed back north and crossed over Kelsey Creek.  On the hillside to the east we made a loop on the trails  below the Pipeline Trail and back to the barn complex area.  You can’t visit Kelsey Creek without stopping by the see the sheep, pigs and goats.  The main bathroom facility in the park was open. We exited Kelsey Cr Park on SE 4th PL and headed west  to 128th where we turned right and entered the first wooded path (Wilburton Hill park Trail) back up to the Botanical Gardens  around Yao Garden.  We were out for just over 2 hours with a couple snack and restroom breaks for a 4.7 mile loop. Every trail we walked on was well drained and mostly clear of leaf debris.  The Botanical Gardens had way more trail traffic than Kelsey Creek Park.  Another fantastic day out in nature with friends.

Decided to hike around the Kelsey Creek Farm and the nature area up behind the farm. For an inter-city park this is a beautiful area to experience nature along with some farm animals. This has always been one of my go to parks in Bellevue, since both my daughter and son attended pre-school here at the farm many years ago, so this area has a lot of beautiful memories for me. A great hike for families.

The 49ers were on bye week, which means so was I. The result? A quick walk from home to Bellevue's REI, Home Goods, Chipotle and back. I needed to buy new rain pants for a potential backpacking trip to the Lost Coast this month, plus lunch.

Foliage in the Bellevue green spaces is spectacular right now. We came across a ton of great leaves, as well as local hikers. The best part of the journey is the fungi, of course: A. muscaria is absolutely POPPING right now in urban areas in western WA.

Seriously. Look around your local parks, schools, and even roadside medians to see if there are flushes abound. Chances are good you'll find some magical friends living in the dirt.

We had a fun urban walk combing two Bellevue Parks: Bellevue Botanical Gardens and  Kelsey Creek Park.  It was fun to seen the intricate holiday lights and displays in the daylight hours.  I come every couple years and walk with the hoards during the evening light show.  To see all the behind the scenes work was amazing.  We walked the gardens perimeter then went over the suspension bridge and made our way down the trail to the International School grounds.  From there is was 3 long blocks on Bellevue city streets (128th Ave SE &  SE 7th Place) to the SW corner of Kelsey Creek Park. The parks department crew were out in force with their blowers corralling leaves in all the meadow areas.  We followed the trail down below the pasture area just west of the creek and then made a loop on the hillside above Kelsey Creek.  The beaver abatement solutions along the creek seem to be working and the beaver dam has a permanent fenced off area in their favorite build area.  All the farm animals were out taking in the sun in their respective pasture areas.

    It was a 2 block walk on SE 4th Place back to the SE corner of Wilburton Hill Park where we connected on the perimeter trail back to the ball fields.  There were not many people out in either park on a great weather morning.  All the trails were clean, well drained and maintained. Our figure 8 loop made a great 4.6 mile outing.  Another fantastic day out in nature with friends.