This was a exploratory hike in Lord Hill Park. The weather on Monday was cool to cold (starting temperatures were 27 deg. F warming to 32 deg. F in the afternoon). The trails were slick in spots and frozen everywhere. We started, from the North Parking Lot, on the Board Walk trail which included two downhill slick frozen areas which were the worst in terms of difficulty on the hike, once the trail leveled, the trail became easier to walk and the board walks, while icy, were not a problem. We then proceeded on the Beaver Lake Trail and connected to some trails that skirted the eastern edge of the park around Beaver Lake (trails not shown on current park map) and down to the Temple Loop Trail. Heading West on the Temple Loop Trail we took the Main Trail/Pipeline Cut Off and then some brief excursions on other trails, returning via the Main Trail to the Equestrian Parking area and from here to the hiker parking area. The frosty weather was a stunning setting of trees, frosted plants as well as slick trails. The frozen trails were helpful in several spots on the east side on Beaver Lake where serious mud holes were frozen, making their navigation no problem (maybe a big problem in more normal conditions). We may all go back to the area again in warmer conditions. Our hike was approximately 3 to 3.5 miles in length with very little elevation gain/loss (see map for approximate route - dotted line).

I decided to check this place out on a cold crisp sunny day. I hiked from the main Northern entrance down to the river with a sidetrip to one of the overlooks. In the cold alder forests it felt like New England. The upper parts were frozen solid, which made for a hard walking surface, but lovely heavy frost on the trees in the sunlight. The lower parts were muddy with running water on the trails. There were a few people near the entrance; otherwise I had it to myself. There were also a few mountain bikes. This is a good place for a few hours of day hiking or a more modest stroll with the family dog and kids. Its a pretty good place for mountain biking. If there were snow, it would be an excellent place to cross-country ski.

This was my family's first family hike ever. I decided right around new years I was going to climb Mount St. Helens this summer and needed to start training by walking and hiking smaller trails around the area. My wife thought it was a great idea and decided it would be a great family activity. We have two young boys. The older one almost 4 and the younger one is just 8 months. Yesterday we went to REI and picked one of those baby carrier backpack thingy's. This afternoon around 12:30 we drove down to the trail and put the little one on my back in the carrier and the older kid walked with us. There weren't very many people around and maybe less than a half dozen cars in the parking lot when we arrived. Right at the trailhead we saw a family returning from their hike. We expected their to be paper maps at the information booth but there weren't any. We took off and decided that we would follow the trail for a bit and once we hit the first fork after the boardwalk area we decided to head toward Beaver Lake. We walked for a bit and at this point it seems like we started to wander a bit and not really follow our original path. We ran into a couple who we talked to for a few minutes and decided we'd change direction. We walked around for a bit until we found a cutoff back to the main trail and eventually back to our original trailhead. To make a long story short, overall this was a great first hike for our family. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and we will more than likely head back here to see if we can all get up to the viewpoints. The trail was pretty muddy in some parts. It was good to finally see a few more people on the trail and a few more showed up as we were leaving. My older son was very excited as we even got to see a lady on a horse come through once we were getting back to the starting point. I would definitely recommend this trail to anyone of varying skill levels or interest levels. I would definitely recommend some sort of hiking boots on the trail or some sturdy walking shoes you don't mind getting dirty.

This park is a great winter getaway when the mountains are full of low elevation snow as they are right now. There are many miles of trails both official and unofficial to be found in the confines of Lord Hill Park. This was my fourth trip to this place just SE of Snohomish but the first time I had people come with me. In this case my hiking partner entering her third season with me and her daughter who was out on her third trip with us. We arrived around 9:30 but there were a few cars ahead of us when we got there. When we were done the north lot we parked in was nearly full. Inside the park though we only saw a handful of trail joggers and hikers using the massive trail system and no horses today although there was plenty of evidence of them in places. Inside the park there were plenty of places with standing water and mud but nothing impassable. Just be prepared for winter conditions and wear boots if you don't want your shoes getting dirty. Our journey headed downhill to the main trail where we then headed toward Beaver Pond. Once at the Beaver Pond we ended up on one of the unofficial trails on the east side of Beaver Pond before eventually seeing signs for Red Barn that we never found. Heading in a general south direction we eventually found ourselves on the south end of the Temple Pond Loop where we took a break before carrying on. We came out on the Pipe Line trail and turned south again to head toward the river. We took the spur to drop down on the Snohomish River where we took another break before climbing back out and taking the Main Trail back to the parks north entrance. We spent about 3 hours in the park and figure we covered more than 5 miles with lots of moss covered trees and tranquil bodies of water to be seen along the way.

Fun and easy hike! I normally go up to 360 view point. It is a beautiful view of snohomish/Monroe. The viewpoint I path is some what hidden.