Another of Clark County’s newly developed neighborhood parks. This park includes a 1/4 mile looping path and an interesting area of wood structures for play or relaxation. Main frontage is on NW 26th Ave and a path connects through to the end of NW 109th St.
The empty land next to the park is the future site of a school.
The Columbia Springs Water Resources Education Center and Trout Hatchery has over a mile of trails to wander around and lots of great educational resources. The public parking lot is just to the west of the Trout Hatchery.
From the parking lot, you can take a short loop trail (1/3 mile) past the Nature Play Area, or follow the path alongside Evergreen Highway to the Cedar Loop trail. East from the parking lot is the Trout Hatchery as well as trails around West Biddle Lake and to East Biddle Lake. To walk all of the trails, out and back, would take you just under 2 miles.
This park and path around the school makes for a 3/4 mile loop. Best to avoid school hours.
This path loops through the park on the north side of the school, then around the west and south sides of the school, completed along the sidewalk of N 9th Ave. There are access paths from NW Westbridge St and from NW 12th Ave.
This is not an easy place to get to, even though you likely frequently drive right past it. Padden Parkway passes through a wetland area, and on the south side of Padden is a path that meanders into the area.
The only way to reach the site is from along the Padden Parkway bike path. You should be able to access the path from the back of the New Heights Church parking lot. I am certain that when I went by there, I saw an access opening from the church parking lot to the bike path, but it does not appear to be there in Google Maps.
This hidden prairie is quite a find. The wetland landscape was populated by thousands of red-winged blackbirds. I enjoyed some time just watching them flit about and listening to their songs.
Paths enter the prairie from NE 25th Dr, NE 187th Pl, NE 29th Dr, and NE 191st Ave.
Sunset Falls on the East Fork Lewis River has a Day Use Area ($5 day use fee) and Campground. The trail from the Day Use Area parking lot to the falls is short, but you can easily extend a hike by walking the Forest Service roads and exploring side trails. When I was there, I followed NF-42 about 1-1/2 miles along the river and explored several short side trails from the road to the river.
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.
