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| Luke, holding Claire and carrying Levi. |
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| Claire and Jessica in front of the Twin Barns. |
The trail was very kid friendly and a very long section of the trail was boardwalk over the "water" which was actually just mud because the tide was out at the time of our visit. This hike would probably be better when the tide is in and when there is more wildlife to observe.
Jessica:
This trail starts in
a forested wetlands which also has you walking on boardwalk. The ponds and
surrounding wetlands are beautiful and we've even been lucky enough to see
beavers on hikes here. Birders and bird watching abound! Once through the
wetlands the trail leads you to a gravel path past the twin barns in the
direction of the delta, which is fed by fresh-water springs and the river. We
saw many large blue herons and at least two varieties of ducks along the
board-walk. Because the delta feeds into the Puget Sound, salt-water wildlife
is found at low tide which made it fun for us as we were hiking at low tide.
Tiny crabs (.5 to 1 inch shells) and shiny black mussels could be spotted
easily in the mud. Claire loved this. At the end of the boardwalk, way out in
the middle of the delta, you are rewarded with a large shady pavilion with
benches. This is where we chose to picnic, and, as it was hot the day we went
it made for a great spot for the kids to "regroup". The view was
pretty and quiet and calm. (Would have made for excellent napping under
different circumstances!) I would recommend packing a sun hat, sunglasses and
sunscreen if you are planning a trip on a sunny day as there are few shaded
rest areas along the way.
