Hike of the Week:

A quiet Puget Sound beach awaits you at the end of the Lund's Gulch Trail

Lund's Gulch

Reach the beach through a beautiful ravine





by Craig Romano
photo by Craig Romano
produced by Michael Fagin

December 9, 2005

Quick FactsLocation: Lynnwood, Snohomish County
Land Agencies: Snohomish County Parks
Roundtrip: 2.5 miles
Elevation gain: 425 feet
Access: From Everett, head 10 miles south on I-5 to exit 183. Follow 164th Street west to SR 99. Continue west on 168th Street SW-turn right on 52nd Ave W. Turn left on 160th Street SW-then right on 56th Ave W. Turn left on 156th Street SW- follow to park entrance.
Notes: Dogs must be leashed

Hike a deep green ravine sliced by a salmon-spawning stream-in Lynnwood of all places. But there’s more-finish at a quiet Puget Sound Beach with sweeping views of Whidbey Island and the Olympic Mountains. Lund’s Gulch forms a green swath in heavily suburbanized south Snohomish County. Protected within the 105 acre Meadowdale County Park, Lund’s Gulch is not only a refuge to area wildlife, but also to area residents.
The hike through the gulch begins in a small opening on a forested bluff. The wide and well-built trail immediately enters a mature forest of Douglas-fir and wastes no time dropping 400-feet into the ravine. Big boughs of ferns greet you along the way. Big cedar and hemlock stumps-testaments to the giants that once grew along the creek line the way. Logged over a century ago, these moss-covered relics with their immense girth are impressive in their own right.
Not all of the big trees were harvested though; a few giant firs and cottonwoods still stand tall within the emerald gulch. When your eyes aren’t fixed on the trees, direct your attention towards the creek. The small waterway bubbles and babbles, making its way to the sound. In autumn, a handful of salmon make their way from the sound to spawn up the creek.
In one mile the trail comes to a junction. The path left leads to the ranger’s residence and to picnic tables scattered about on a manicured lawn. The path right continues along the creek and through the forest reaching a railroad underpass-which delivers you to the beach. Rest on a driftwood log or comb the shore. On a clear and dry winter’s day, the view out to the snow-capped Olympics is grand.

Lund’s Gulch is one of the highlighted hikes in the free brochure, Hiking Snohomish County, published by the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau. Look for it at area visitor’s center.