We had a couple of hours to kill in between various appointments today so we headed to Yellow Lake for a short hike with our three littles, aged 9, 7, and 2.5. The trail is gentle enough for our toddler to do “by my own self” with two stops for chocolate-covered dried blueberries and a drink of water. There is great tree cover here for rainy days, and a lot to entertain small children on this trail. We saw several types of ducks, a salamander right on the trail, an amazing beaver lodge at the viewpoint for Tiger Mtn, explored the exercise equipment strewn along various spots on the trail, found all the fairy & gnome houses (located towards the end of the trail close to the playground). The playground is also a big draw so we spent some time there before heading out again. This is a quiet, hidden gem on a weekday, go check it out sometime! 

First time here, and it was a great short and shady trail. The ducks and herons around the dock were cool and we loved finding the fairy houses. If you have a child who is motivated but a treasure hunt, go counter-clockwise, but if your child will complain about not having found any fairy houses every few minutes, go clockwise.

Our family is hiking the month of August to raise funds for WTA's Hike-A-Thon so that the trails can continue to be enjoyed by future generations. Please consider contributing, every $ helps! https://give.wta.org/Jenchilada2022
https://give.wta.org/CaptainJames

#hikeathon #teamtacosformiles

Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, I brought my 8 yo, 6 yo and 2 yo out to Yellow Lake, as this was a new hike for us and we’ve been meaning to explore it for a while. This trail is a short, nearly flat kid-friendly loop taking one all the way around a very pretty little lake. The trail is in great shape and no mud at all. Right away we saw several gorgeous Wood Ducks! Some other waterfowl, beautiful (but scarce) fungi, lots of maple blossoms and salmonberry blossoms to snack on along the way. Look for the “fairy houses” in the trees along the trail, and enjoy the exercise equipment dotting the way. We made a half day of it, bringing our lunch to eat by the playground after some additional time burning off energy there. What a lovely morning celebrating all that the Earth has to offer. 

Yellow Lake is a hiking trail and park system surrounding the natural lake region, with the Issaquah residential community surrounding the hiking area outside of the trail borders. The hiking trails at the lake are easily accessible by the neighborhood roads, with a spacious parking lot at the lakeside park that eventually leads towards the beginning of the trailhead - marked by obvious signs containing information of trail maps and hike lengths. The trail itself is a relatively simple and easy 1.25 mile loop around the scenic Yellow Lake through the densely overgrown forest, with clean gravel pathways suitable for walking and biking. From morning to sunset, the trails are usually bright during the early spring with not too many people walking around the trails. The trail opens up to the lake with a small wooden boardwalk that gives a closer view of the water and ducks along the hiking path. 

There seems to be some fishing line disposals and benches on the boardwalk area, although there is rarely anyone fishing at the lake during the daytime. The forest trail is ordinary and similar to many other hiking locations in the state, with dense evergreens and ferns covering the forest floor. During the daytime, there is not very much wildlife visible and no bugs on the trails although they become increasingly bothersome after the sun sets. The trail system is not very large in terms of land, and the nearby houses in the neighborhood can be seen through the trees along the hiking path. The playgrounds, large grass areas, and bathrooms at the beginning of the trail are noticeable as a part of the suburban integration of natural park areas, but add little to the hiking experience around the lake. The trails that loop around the lake also connect with other nearby trail systems and natural park areas, providing an opportunity to explore more hiking locations in the broader Sammamish area. 

A mama bear & her cub have been around this trail recently.  I hiked here about a week ago and actually saw them by the dock, their trail was still easily visible by the dock today (going under the walkway).  Today there were signs up to watch for the bears, but we didn't see them today.  However, we were biking not hiking today.  This is a nice, easy hike to do with kids or to bike with kids as well.   It takes an adult about a 1/2 hour to hike the easy, flat loop.  There is a beaver lodge, a dock with many ducks that obviously frequently get fed by humans, as well as a couple workout stations along the trail. 

There are abundant ripe huckleberries at various points along the trail, and a few trailing blackberries.  There are also salmonberry & thimbleberry bushes past the berry stage now, and Himalayan blackberries not yet to peak ripeness.