We decided to shake things up a bit and explore to a new outdoor locale. Unwilling to drive up Highway 2, we instead headed for Lynnwood.
Lynnwood, you say? The heart of Suburbia?
Yes. And this tiny urban trail, while busy, is a nice little gem of a park, complete with forests, streams, a spooky tunnel, train tracks, and a beautiful little beach on Puget Sound.
All in, it’s about 2.5 miles roundtrip. Here are some additional details, including current trip reports and driving directions.
Morning fog. I was going to title this ‘early morning fog’ but that would be bending the truth significantly: we never make it anywhere before 10 am these days... such is life with kids.
Passing under the train tracks in the ’spooky tunnel’ according to Ben. It’s made slightly complicated by the fact that the river also runs in the same tunnel.
At last! The beach.
Whoohoo trains!!! (never mind that this one was a much-disputed coal train).
Baby Emma wasn’t so impressed with the trains.
Rocks? My Favorite!
Flora! Fauna! Hooray for banana slugs.
Give ‘em a lick and your tongue will go numb (unsubstantiated). Anybody ever tried this? Ten points for you. Hmm. Shall we add it to the bucket list?
The leaves, they are a changing’, my dears. Fall is upon us.
Much love,
Sonja
If You Go:
Lund’s Gulch at Meadowdale Beach Park
Rating: Easy.
Distance: 2.5 Miles, roundtrip.
Elevation Gain: 400 feet
Highlights: A beautiful beach, babbling brook, and massive stumps leftover from settler days.
Dislikes: Fairly busy on a Sunday morning.
Tips:
- Parking is free but the lot does fill up (by 11:30 there were cars waiting for our spot). There is an additional lot down by the ranger’s house (close to the beach) that is also accessible if you’re not interested in the hiking bit.
- You could do this trail with an adventurous-type stroller (BOB) as it’s smooth and wide (with few tree roots), but the uphill return trip would be a slog. I’d recommend the baby backpack route.
- The trail splits near the bottom of the hill; choose either route as both lead to the beach.
- Save a bit of water (and energy) for the last mile home; it’s almost all up hill out of the gulch.
