This article originally published April 17, 2018.

North Creek Trail is one of my absolute favorite walks in Everett.

It’s a two mile paved path that leads from McCollum Park to the Mill Creek Town Center. The trail winds through a hilly forested section of protected wetlands.

The NCT has what all urban paths have: bicyclists in Lycra, gung ho rollerbladers, power walkers streaming hip hop, shitszus, jogging strollers, etc.

What makes the North Creek Trail exceptional is its beauty. Though there are private condos and apartments to the west of the path, but the east side is protected wetland and is full of northwest vegetation.

My favorite stretch of the NCT is to the south end of the path, approaching the town center, when you walk through a dark grove of cedars so tall and thick that they block out the sun. They smell spicy and damp. All of a sudden you feel like you’re deep in the actual woods-woods.

I went this week and saw yellow tongues of skunk cabbage, electric-green willows, sawtooth ferns, ducks, and squirrels. I’ve picked blackberries there with my family in the summer—bucketfuls of foraged fruit right off the path.

Walking the trail makes for a decent four-mile round trip (one mile longer than a stroll around Green Lake in Seattle). Along the path are benches, picnic tables, and even a pagoda if you need to stop to catch a breather. There’s a symmetry to the journey, and a rhythm. Two miles to the town center, pause for a sit-down and coffee (usually iced americano, Spotted Cow), then the return leg. It makes for about a two hour jaunt.

It’s the perfect walk for a sunny afternoon or even a bundled-up rainy day with a hot beverage. 

Everett is full of natural treasures. I’ve seen coyote and deer off of Marine View Drive. I’ve seen bald eagles at Pigeon Creek and sea lions plopped on a buoy near Jetty Island. There are seals on the docks and seagulls in the air.

Everett is a surprisingly beautiful place to live, especially in spring and summer. I’m excited the weather is getting warmer so that I can explore it some more. 

Good things happen here.

NORTH CREEK TRAILHEAD AT MCCOLLUM PARK

600 128th St SE
Everett, WA 98208
Phone: (425) 388-6600

The trailhead is south of the transit center at McCollum Park.

LIKE PARKS?

CHECK OUT FOREST PARK.
ALSO:  PIGEON CREEK AND FORGOTTEN CREEK.

Richard Porter is a writer for Live in Everett.