Hit this trail today from the south parking lot with our two kids. Walked up the hill and split off to the first pond to the left. Im not really sure what the name is. 

We watched a beaver swim around and slap it's tail on the water for a while then proceeded further around the same lake and found the beaver's lodge! 

With the frogs singing and the beaver swimming, my kids were ore than enthused! We were unable to stay for too long today due to schedules, but we will definitely be coming back here to explore more at a future date. 

The trails we used were mostly dry. Some had some water running over them but nothing that we couldn't handle by stepping or jumping over them. 

Had Grandpa duty today and figured a nice stroll up on the Hill would be just the ticket. Got there late of course, and the place was packed, but I always find (create?) a spot.  We decided to go as far as Hidden Pond, and then see if we had the energy to continue on.

Who knew there were trolls under the boardwalks?  Obviously, this meant that we had to race across so we wouldn't be captured - and for some reason, make as much noise as possible in the process. By the time we got to the Midway, I was the trail harbinger, responsible for pointing out all the "obstacles" ahead. These all required careful consideration for safe passage - should they be leapt over enthusiastically, or gingerly circumvented?   And mud? Apparently, that is our "all-time worst enemy".

Somehow, we made it to Hidden Pond unscathed. Checked out the new items on The Stump and replaced some that had fallen. (pinky swore we'd bring something to leave next time) Had a snack at the blue chair, listening to the frogs enjoying this warm day. Looking across the pond, we remembered the "fort" from last time. It is just an old hollow stump - but the perfect Battle Arena !

Don't know how - but he had crammed 10 action "characters" into that little Camelbak!  The stump became a massive, multi-level Battle Arena - with the Super Heroes vs. the Villains. A rather eclectic mix, and in the end it was Mugman defeating Venom after all the others had fallen into the "void". Somehow, the Good Guys always seem to win...

Making sure there were no "Lost Toys", we made our way back on the Midway Cutoff. The swamp crossing still had a little snow, and despite a minor mishap that resulted in a totally blown-out-of-proportion muddy knee fit, we made it back to the road just fine. Forgot all about it as we threw rocks down the road to see whose rolled farthest. Between escaping the trolls and battle fatigue, the van was a welcome sight for both of us, and we headed into town for a well deserved treat.

It was a refreshing look at the woods through a much younger looking glass - a reminder to slow down and enjoy the moment.

Lord Hill is a wonderful place for a day hike for those who live on the Eastside!  While not wilderness, it has remnants of old-growth felled cedars with springboard notches, and stands of second-growth Doug Firs that rise up through the fern and moss-soaked branches.  There are actually quite a few ecosystems as one hikes from the Snohomish River floodplain up 500 ft or so in elevation to the top of the hills. There are small rivulets and waterfalls, and placid ponds throughout.

There are two trailheads: one at the base just north of the 522 bridge; and one at the top.  Some of the prettiest paths are more closely accessible from the top trailhead, and require much less elevation gain than starting out at the base.  One of my, and many other hikers' favorite areas is the loop around Temple Pond.  There are several way s to extend this loop, such as taking the Red Barn loop trail or taking a side excursion to English Pond, but the views and places to rest and enjoy the landscape along the Temple Pond Loop trail itself is more than adequate.  

Many of the trails are open to multiple types of recreation, including mountain bikes, trail running and equestrian.  Expect to meet any and all of these folks on a sunny weekend afternoon, except on a few trails that are not open or pleasant for anything other than foot travel.

There is a backbone of major paths that follow old roads, and these trails are listed on the major signage within the trail system.  As they are essentially roads, the grades are fairly gentle.  Emanating from these road trails are a significant network of foot trails that do not follow old roads.  The first time on this trail system can be confusing.  I have found that the map at https://snohomishcountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9711/Trail-Map-of-Park?bidId=  is the most detailed map of the trail network.  A word of warning, however: some of the minor trails indicated on this map don't seem to exist in reality, at least I couldn't find them!    

After a month of no trail crew today was the day! The work party was not canceled due to weather. 

Our crew of roughly 20, worked on the trail to the river, after cutting out about a mile of hiking by being able to carpool closer to the trail we'd be working on thanks to the county for letting us drive on the road.  We split up into about four or five different groups. 

Two groups worked higher up closer to the cars, working on rerouting the little drainage creek off of the trail so you're not walking in water. The amount they were able to do throughout the day was a huge improvement from when we walked in in the morning. One other group worked on cutting branches/ bushed out of the trail cutting them back so that as spring approaches , they will not bloom into the trail. Two other crews worked on clearing out/ and or creating new drains for water to run off of. 

The two awesome women I worked with and myself were able to complete three drains throughout the day and start on another one at the end of the day. 

The crew that was out there on Friday cleared a large portion of blackberries down near the river allowing access to the river which we got to enjoy during lunch. 

The small sandy area at the river was a great place to soak up the beautiful sunshine and enjoy the river for a while. 

The trail was frozen when we walked in , but by the end of the day it had warmed up allowing us to realize that frozen mud is much easier to walk on than slippery mud. (who knew, hahaha)

The trailhead has plenty of party, and two port-o-potties to use. The trails are multi-use Hikers yield to bikes, who in turn yield to horses.

I had never been to this park before, and can't wait to go back and explore it even more.

Until next time, Happy trails!

Spent a beautiful day with a volunteer crew at Lord Hill Park working on the River Trail. My group spent most of the morning brushing and building a new drain to improve drainage along the wet and muddy trail. The trail itself is snow free but there is still a good amount of crusty frozen snow along the trail that came out in large chunks when we were building the drain.

Once the drain was built, my group spent the rest of the morning and afternoon working on a trail realignment away from another muddy area further down the trail toward the river. This involved moving a large rock in the new trail's path and using grub hoes and shovels to remove duff (leaves and organic material) from the work area and start building the bench and backslope of the realigned trail with mineral soil. We also worked on clearing a small stream so water would drain away from the area we dug out for the realignment. We left the remainder of the realignment for the next group. 

We had lunch on the shore of the Snohomish River, about .4 miles away from our work site for the day. It was a great day to be working outside!