Just a quick jaunt on the southern loop area of Swan Creek park this morning. 

Started and ended at the 56th entrance. Getting to the creek here can be a little tricky with all the mountain bike offshoot trails. 

On the creek side portion there are a few new blowdowns from recent storms though these are easily negotiable. Lots of fall leaves can be slippery so just keep that in mind. Most of this route could stand to be brushed out a bit, with plenty of encroaching branches from all angles at certain points- but entirely dodgeable as-is. 

No Salmon seen in the creek, must have missed it. 

RT 1.6m/154ft 

It took a minute to find the trail from the parking lot, then it was a nice enough walk through the woods, mostly in sight (and aound!) of the creek.
The trail is overgrown in sections and we both ended up with some mild stinging on our arms from brushing against an unknown plant.
One section was pretty eroded where a tree had fallen toward the creek and its root ball had taken out the trail, but it was only a few feet.

i started at the pioneer trailhead, my intention was to hike the length of the swan creek trail. this is not a loop trail so at the other end i turned around and headed back to the pioneer parking lot, although i could have headed up to  the rest of the park. the trail itself was moderately challenging for me as there were plenty of ups and downs, narrow trails, stairs, and boardwalks that were mushy in some areas. poles came in handy! the walk itself was incredible, so much greenery and nature sounds, not too much societal noise. there were a couple of places overlooking the creek that were so serene, peaceful and calming, this was where the creek was dry. i did not see much wildlife though i heard them a lot! there were some side trails to consider, esp going down to the creek. i went down to an open area next to the creek to rest a bit on my return trip, pretty tired and ragged by this time. all of a sudden i heard a lot of kids noises, very happy/chatty/energetic, running and playing on the trail, did not seem to be tired at all...i felt old...anyway overall i walked a little over 5 miles as i did take a number of detours as i am prone to asking myself, "i wonder where this goes?"...recommended

We went to this park because it was supposed to be dog friendly (on leash) and proximity traveling parties coming from north and south. Based on the April 9, 2025 trip report, we avoided the north entrance from Pioneer Way E and instead started at the middle, E. 42nd St. (where a nice community garden and picnic area exist). The parking was sketchy because of other people seemingly just hanging out for no good reason and certainly not to garden or hike. The picnic tables were adequate. The port-a-potties were horrific. The females in our group could not use them.

The trail signage was worn, faded, and less than helpful. It took a couple attempts before we made it down to a set of switchbacks to the Creek. But first we crossed where a large tree had fallen over (must have been on the downside of the trail, taking most of the trail with it. That was about mid-park. We crossed that carefully and agree with prior trail report that it would be dangerous for many people and dogs. Once at the Creek level we headed north and realized at the end that there was no way to get to the parallel rim trail in the north because it does not extend that far. We ended up walking along the busy Pioneer Way road and up several hills and through neighborhoods to make it back to our cars. We never found a second set of port-a-potties. A couple of nice trail features were salmonberries ripening, access to the creek for our party's dog, and cool temperatures in the heavily wooded valley.  

I would recommend heading south from the middle entrance off of 42nd to find an appropriate loop contained within the park. Also, many dogs were off leash, though well-behaved. 

Started at lower swan creek off of pioneer, there were a few downed trees on trail, one made it inaccessible so we turned around and went up a different trail, the tree that fell took out part of the trail so it’s a little treacherous, but was easy enough to navigate. Said trail treachery did almost take out a child that was just ahead of us. Just a heads up for folks with small kids, the loose dirt is a bit of a falling hazard.