Nothing like a good walk around Discovery Park to break in a new pair of hiking boots.
Starting out from the Visitor Center (beware that the trailhead here is closed due to construction on the Visitor Center, you need to walk up the sidewalk next to the road until you reach the cemetery to meet up with the Loop Trail) I set out to hike in the clockwise direction.
There are a maze of trails in Discovery Park, but fortunately the Loop trail is well marked at its junctions. I took it along the North bluff, where views of the Sound and Olympics are stunning right now, before turning off on the Beach trail to head down to the lighthouse.
The tread is in good shape, though the bottom of the box steps can be a tall step due to erosion. Lots of birds out and about, and it looks like the salmonberries will be ripe soon.
Circling the lighthouse, I headed up onto the South Beach Trail to get back up to the Loop trail. The trail was wet and muddy in places, as it always seems to be, but I was thrilled to see new trail structures in place of the old stairs that were falling in.
To finish up my day, I detoured to Daybreak Star Cultural Center to check out the Wolf Tree Nature Trail (which doesn't seem to have its own WTA entry). This trail could definitely use some love. The surface is a mix of bark and puncheon through the boggy areas, but its gotten very brushy and grown in. The skunk cabbage are enormous, though!
Finally, I caught the 33 and headed home.
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