This site includes the future Curtin Creek Community Park, neighbored by the Glenwood Disc Golf Course and a Curtin Creek habitat and wetland restoration area.  You can park in the Glenwood Community Church parking lot and explore trails that lead into the wetland and habit restoration area.  The church property also includes a disc golf course to enjoy if you want something more than a nature walk.

The planned park will be on the property to the north of the church and east of the fire station.

On 192nd Ave, just south of the Fisher Basin Community Park, I found a site that has a good looping trail, but no name.  This is an area of grass and partially treed with a nice paved 1/4 mile looping path.  At the west end of the site is a fenced grassy area around a water filtration pond, but when I was there the gate was open allowing access to a grassy walk.

In addition to the frontage on 192nd Ave, there are two access paths from SE 11th Way, near 191st Ave and near 188th Ave.

Fisher Basin Community Park is located next to Shahala Middle School and Illahee Elementary School and includes a great loop path to follow around the schools during non-school hours.  (Please avoid walking the school grounds during school hours).

This is a flat paved walk.  What really interested me when I was there, was the abundance of birds in trees along the path between the two schools, and in the field to the west of that path.  I even saw Scrub Jays there, which I have not seen on my other walks.

The empty land next to the schools (at the corner of SE 192nd Ave and SE 1st St) provides an interesting area to look for birds, and some trails to wander.  This area is owned by PeaceHealth so will likely soon be developed into a clinic.

The main access to the park is from SE 192nd Ave or the Middle School Parking Lot. It can also be accessed from E 9th Circle, SE 3rd Way, SE 1st St or the Elementary School Parking Lot.

Wintler Park serves as a great place to start a walk along the Waterfront Renaissance Trail.  It is at the east end of the trail taking you just over 4 miles into the Vancouver waterfront.  Along many areas you can choose to stick to the paved path, or take side trails down to the beach and walk along the river shore.  There are also side trails to interesting view points such as the end of the Jetty at Tidewater Cove Marina and the Henry J. Kaiser Shipyard Memorial.

Be aware that Wintler Park is a very popular beach destination on sunny hot summer days and the parking will fill up.  During the busy season it would be best to park somewhere else to walk the trail, such as at the Vancouver Water Resources Education Center or at parking for Marine Park.

Hathaway Park has a playground, ball field, boat launch, and rough trail along the river.  You can take a stroll through the park, or you can take a more challenging walk up the river.  When I reached the bend in the river, I realized I had been there before, because I had previously come down river along the trail from the Schmid Family Park.  This means there is a more or less walk able trail for roughly half a mile.

This is an area of natural forest surrounded by cleared fields with a network of trails winding through it.  It is a great place for a casual walk in the woods.  The most difficult part of walking these trails is getting to them. There are three points of entry, each with it’s obstacles.

You can enter from the north, by going through the Lucky Memorial Dog Park.  Park at the parking lot for the Dog Park, enter the Dog Park gate, walk straight south through the fenced area, and at the far fence turn right, exit the gate and enter the nature preserve.  It is also possible to walk down NE 101st Pl to reach the nature preserve, but this road is a private drive, so please be respectful of the neighbors.

To enter from the south, you park at the end of NE 97th Ave, then step over the low barbed wire fence, or through the gate, and follow the trail to the trees.

Another trail enters from the track behind Laurin Middle School, but that is mostly useful for anyone coming from the school.

An interesting oddity is the fact that when entering from the south, there is a sign that says “Groth Nature Preserve”, and when entering from the north, there is a sign that says “Lauretta Norene Forest Preserve”.  It appears that there were two adjoining plots of land dedicated by the two families to form the preserve.

This viewpoint was built without a parking area, however there are options to park nearby and walk to it.  A brand new road just completed now takes you right to it.  The area just north of the viewpoint is preserved as a natural area, and has a couple trails that can make for a more interesting walk as well.

The new road to the site is not yet included in Google Maps as of this writing.  It is accessed from a new traffic circle on SE Brady Rd.  There is no open access from SE 42nd Circle.  However, on SE 38th Way, you can enter a trail through the natural area.  Follow this trail until you hit the back of the QFC.  Turn left and follow that trail parallel to the overhead power lines until you reach the path along 192nd Ave, and then up to the Viewpoint.  The trails in this natural area can also be entered from behind Symmetry Massage and Fitness, from next to Radiance Dental Assisting Academy, and from the parking lot near the UPS Store.

If you don’t want to walk through the nature area, but want to walk to the Viewpoint, the parking lots near QFC provide a good option.  Just walk south along the east side of 192nd Ave to the path up to the Viewpoint.  As the area below the Viewpoint is being developed with new roads and multi-use paths, more options are opening up for parking nearby.

This is a long narrow neighborhood park with a paved path that meanders the length of the park and has lollipop loops at both ends.  Walking the full length, circling at both ends, and returning to the starting point makes for about a 1/2 mile walk.

At first glance this is a small neighborhood park, with a playground area and access to Burnt Bridge Creek.  There is a scenic bridge over the creek, and the area around the playground is well maintained, but there is more to the park that is somewhat neglected, as well as trails that can offer a longer walk through some of the neighboring undeveloped lands.

The entry points to the park are from the tree shaded turnaround on NE 51st St or the cul de sac end of NE 47th St.  There is an access pathway at NE 48th Circle, but that enters into a neglected corner of the park, and does not have a trail connection to the other areas of the park.  In fact, that access pathway appears to connect to the neighboring undeveloped lot, rather than directly to the park.

I took a longer walk at the site, about 1.7 miles.  I started at 51st by following the well used walking path to the left.  This took me along Burnt Bridge Creek, along side the open meadow, and then out towards 51st to get around the waterway.  I then followed the trail along the edge of field, near the waterway, to the bridge at NE 11th Ave to cross Burnt Bridge Creek.  I turned left to cross the next field, again following the creek.  This trail hits a wooded area where I turned to the left to and followed the access path out to 48th Circle.  I then walked the road around to the right, along 109th Ave and 47th St, to reach the park again.  At the bridge, instead of crossing, I went to the left, and followed a path along the west bank of the creek out to a field.  A circuit around the field brought be back to this path and then back to the bridge at the park.  I then crossed through the park, then did a similar circuit around the field to the west, which has a trail a long the north bank of the creek.

There are areas of this walk where a litter cleanup is needed, and a few places where someone may have been camping recently.

Please note, these large fields are not part of the park, but are sites planned for future development, owned by Weston Investment Co, LLC.  Please be respectful of private property, and only walk the trails at your own risk.

I came across this site while out exploring.  It’s a field and wetland managed for wildlife habitat.  Several paths, perhaps a little over 1/2 mile, have been mowed in the tall grass to allow easy walking around the site to explore, learn, and to watch for wildlife.  You can also view the spring which is the headwaters of Curtin Creek.

It can be tricky to reach, since the entrance is at the end of NE 72nd Ave, and 72nd Ave can only be turned onto when going west on NE 78th St.