Midway on the hike part of the trail had washed away . Other than that it was great and my 2 year old had a blast .

I only could fit in an urban hike today, and recently noticed this on WTA's app. I know that WTA put a lot of work into this one. It looked interesting and fit my criteria of a shorter hike with my schedule.  

I parked at the entrance on 56th Street.  A previous trip report reflected that it's good to park at one end or the other.  This trail is well marked for the most part, with a trail sign and a map on numerous wooden posts. However, not every intersection is marked so it can be a bit confusing. The route I took was the Swan Creek Trail from 56th to the Pioneer Way entrance.  I then returned on the Swan Creek Trail, and cut off at some point to the Canyon Rim Trail back to my car.  I clocked five miles round trip with 470 elevation gain.

I had the hike to myself, which was awesome.  I'd suggest parking at Pioneer Way instead, because 56th Street is a bit sketchy.  Wildflowers are out!  I only recognized bleeding hearts, but saw about ten different kinds of flowers blooming.

The minor obstacle I checked for this trip report was the mud! Wear hiking boots. Also, poles would be nice to have also. I regret that I left mine in the car.  I wasn't a fan of this hike and wouldn't do it again, but it was good when it's raining and you have limited time.

I would suggest using either the East 56th Street entrance or the Pioneer Way entrance. The East T Street and East 42nd Street entrances put you right in the middle of the trails and if you're like me, you like to start at the beginning of a trail and follow it all the way to the end. The East 56th Street entrance is accessible from East Portland Avenue.

What a fun day on a new set of trails - many of which were constructed by WTA volunteers! My father and I explored both the Rim Trail and the Creek Trail - covering around 3 miles round trip and enjoyed coming across some unique features that families would especially enjoy. A carved table, chair and lamp for instance! Cairns in fern, ant hills, a gigantic birds nest and a rock necklace around a tree! We explored around half of the park and look forward to returning! The trails were in good shape and I was impressed with the challenging trail construction - especially down to the creek. And the signage was excellent. We also learned that my mother's childhood friend grew up on the Swan Lake Dairy Farm out of Eatonville - and we wondered if the creek originates at the lake! Next time I will bring along a garbage bag to help keep the area clean.

I put Swan Creek Park in my navigation and it took me to a dead end street where I believe you might be able to enter but there were no trespassing signs on one side so I didn't chance it. I entered by Lister Elementary School which was easy to find. This was my first solo hike and I feel like it was perfect for that. I saw an older couple within the first 10 minutes and then maybe 30 minutes in a runner past by me but that was the only people I encountered on the trail. I did all of Lister Overlook which lead me to Canyon Rim Trail. I followed that down to where there was a trail that cut over to Swan Creek Trail and followed that back up to where I started. The trail was great, you can hear the creek and the signs they have placed really made me feel confident and comfortable on the trail. There was some muddy areas but nothing too bad. I can't wait to go back and do the entire Swan Creek and Canyon Rim Trail!