Monday, June 25, 2012

Paradise Valley Conservation Area - June 21, 2012

A wooden foot bridge along the Lloyd Trail.

One of several small Cairns that I saw along the Lloyd Trail.


This was our second trip to Paradise Valley Conservation Area in Woodinville. The last time we went was in December and it was much warmer this time, thankfully!

There were several cars parked in the parking area when we arrived at around 11:30 am on a Thursday. I'm pretty sure the parking area fills up quickly on the weekends. There is a portable toilet in the parking area.

I would recommend printing a map from the link above. You can plan your route as you go.

We left the parking area and walked the Whispering Firs and Cascara trails. Then we headed a short way down the Mainline Trail to The Clearing for lunch. This is a nice open area with benches and makes a great place to have lunch.

Having lunch in The Clearing


After we ate we headed down the Mainline Trail until we hit the Lloyd Trail and took that until it reaches the Southern Traverse Trail. From there we followed the Forest Ridge Trail back to the Mainline Trail. We walked out to the parking lot after we finished and went for ice cream at The Snoqualmie Ice Cream Cafe when we were done. It's just a few minutes from the trailhead and has delicious ice cream!

We encountered several bikes along the trails that we hiked as well as some muddy spots (I would recommend hiking boots, or at the very least sturdy tennis shoes).

There are about 13 miles of trails in this park and is a great place to explore with kids. Plenty of easy walking trails for even the youngest of hikers!

I found my first ripe huckleberries of the season. There were quite a few Red Huckleberries around!



The bleeding hearts were still in bloom:


 I thought the Oregon Grapes were a really pretty green color:




Here are my fungus pictures:














I found this pine cone carefully balancing on this Huckleberry branch.



Happy Trails!

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