Crisp, winter day, patches of ice and snow on some parts of the trail. Mud on others. Trail is hard to navigate without a GPS, there are many more off-branches than are signed or mapped, which makes it hard to know which loop you are on exactly. The frost on the ferns was lovely. Definitely a worthwhile hike to do.

This is a great option for road runners or families with small children who want some easily accessible trails. The surroundings are primarily forest and wetland, with mountain views on a clear day. The Main Trail and Pipeline Trail are wide and well groomed, with gradual elevation change. Be mindful of single track options, as they can be very muddy, debris laden, or unexpectedly end in private property.

Full name Lord Hill Regional Park, it is not in South Sound as listed on the website, this is in the backyard of Everett, Snohomish, and Monroe. This is a wonderful wild park with trails around lots of little ponds, some nice viewpoints, and eventually the Snohomish River. Before you go, download the map from the website. The signage is improving, but still there are trails not signed and not every intersection has a kiosk map. One big one, the trail around Beaver Lake (which is actually more of a marsh) is not on the maps anywhere. It is called the Red Barn trail and you will see signs for it while you are on it, but not at the intersection with the Pipeline trail. It goes around the lake, heads thru the woods and eventually Ts with the Temple Pond trail. There is a piece of leather nailed to a tree, with hand drawn directional signs. Go left for Temple Pond, first check out this nice scenic pond with lots of ducks, then take the trail back to the Pipeline. From the Pipeline there are all sorts of possibilities. We went down the Pipeline, hit the Quarry trail, looped up around an unnamed pond and back along the Main trail. You can also access the Snohomish River, or investigate old machinery and the old quarries. From the main trail there is the West View trail which takes you to a view point of the Cascades and the Snohomish valley. We just made one big loop around, as the weather really did not lend itself to views of either the river or mtns. All of the trails are muddy with big puddles, your feet will get wet, guaranteed. We saw one mtn biker and 3 hikers. There is still some fall color and we saw lots of deer tracks, ducks and a heron.

Nice day hike area. Saw a couple of people on horseback, a few on bicycles, and several on foot. There's a variety of trails, even some not marked on the main map. Like the Ewe Chute Trail. Anytime you look at one of the large maps in the main intersecting trails it's oriented to the way you are facing the map. It's not a huge area, it's possible to get 'lost' on some of the off chute trails. Be aware of your surroundings, take extra water, a whistle, snacks, etc. There are trail markers, and if you walk on a trail long enough, you'll find a map, or loop back to where you were. Give yourself some extra time, as the pond loop is lovely.