Excellent hike/bike ride - various split off trails will accommodate any length or difficulty of the hike. I really enjoyed the quiet - ran into 3 people over nearly 1.5 hr walk. My dog really enjoyed the trail as well. We'll definitely be back for more exploring!

Signage wasn't too great; I used my gps to make sure I was heading in the right direction a few times.

Since I didn't have a full day to hike, this was a great opportunity to head on over to Lord Hill Regional Park near Snohomish to enjoy the shade and the quiet. Despite the tremendous size of the park, we saw fewer than ten people all day, and no one on horseback. The trail system on Lord Hill is frequently, though not always signed. Between the occasional maps and labeled trails, it is not too difficult to keep track of where you are. I would note the presence of many smaller, hiker-only trails that are not on the maps or signed. While we saw very limited flowers, I did notice in some of the largest red huckleberry bushes I've ever laid eyes on, some the size of rhododendrons. They have plentiful, though small berries. These were especially common along the Pipeline Connector Trail near a nice southern-facing viewpoint (elevation 630 feet). That viewpoint looks into the valley below and is not especially remarkable by itself, but it made a good halfway point. For my next trip I suspect I will avoid the Pipeline Trail, which is a broad, north-south trail through a corridor running above a natural gas pipeline. The ground cover there had leaves that looked just like bamboo. I didn't have much opportunity to try the numerous shorter trails in the western section of the park. Hike-a-Thon Hike # 2 Urban Hike # 2 Approximate route: Boardwalks > Beaver Lake Trail > Pipeline Trail > Pipeline Cutoff Trail > Viewpoint > Pipeline Cutoff Trail > Main Trail > Boardwalks Distance: 4.45 miles (per Map My Ride app) Hike-a-Thon days remaining: 29 Sponsor muffinprincess by searching for "Courtney Garth"

We took the Beaver Lake route which was a tad over 2 miles round trip. The trail was in great condition but the "lake" was non-existent. We reached the area where the lake was supposed to be and saw nothing but tall grass. Apparently the lake was back there somewhere and just extremely low for this time of year. It was quite the letdown honestly, as the rest of this hike was a mixture of canopy cover and then wide open walking through the grass. There was nothing special to speak of but a couple of hills and the slight elevation change did at least provide some extra exercise. We hiked with several other families and quite a few kids between the ages of 4-15. The little ones tended to trip a lot but were able to walk the entire way nonetheless. One thing to note is that there is quite a bit of nettle around the trailhead and along the trail itself. We had a little one wander into it and it made that family's hike way less happy then it should have been.

This was my first time to Lord Hill and it was about what I expected. The trails were fairly muddy, as this park is shared with bikers and horses. It's also easy to get lost here as there were new trails that were not on the map, so be careful. It is a beautiful place, very quiet and peaceful. All in all a nice walk.