What's So Great About Lord Hill Park?

I’m a millennial who is an avid podcast listener, which is to say, I’m not opposed to a good conspiracy theory. I know my way around some fringe paranormal content, and I like it that way.

One of my favorite out-there theories is ley lines. Now discredited, ley lines were a theory popularized in the 1960s. The idea was that ancient civilizations (and perhaps aliens?) were attracted to certain parallels on the earth's surface because of strong “energy” along these lines.

Seems a bit on the crackpot side, but I like the idea of an area that gives energy. Because that’s always how I feel when I visit Lord Hill Park in Snohomish County.

Lord Hill isn't far from my home. I can make it to the western trailhead in under 20 minutes if I hit the green lights right. And no matter how email-frazzled or to-do-list-minded I am when I park, I will emerge from the second-growth forest clearheaded and at ease, moving with calm and grace through the world.

Fresh energy.

I think everyone needs somewhere, someone, something like that.

Lord Hill is one of the best parks in the Snohomish County Parks system, which is saying quite a lot. It’s actually really hard to choose if I like Lord Hill, Centennial Trail, or Kayak Point best. Rather, these parks are kind of like your own children – you have no favorites but can appreciate each for its own gifts and contributions.

What's so great about Lord Hill? Okay, let me count the ways.

1. Lord Hill is the kind of place you can get lost in.

It’s not wilderness by any stretch of the word. The park is second-growth timber bordered by residential areas, farms, and the Snohomish River.

Still, the park's 1,453 acres of woods and wetlands is a truly jumbled-up maze of footpaths. If you’re not careful, you could actually get pretty lost. I recommend using a GPS app on your phone so that you can retrace your steps if need be – I've popped out of the forest in places I didn’t expect because it’s pretty easy to get disoriented once you’re in the woods.

I submit that this is part of the fun. Who doesn't like a good surprise?

2. Lord Hill is beautiful, naturally.

I’m probably somewhat biased, having grown up as a latchkey kid in the foothills of the Cascades.

I’m something of a tree nerd so I can appreciate the big leaf maples, alder, cedar and vine maple that fill the canopy. The underbrush is underbrush comprised of sword ferns, mushrooms, salal, devil’s club, and salmon berries. The marshes teem with sedges, cattails, and dragonflies.

Please appreciate owl, deer, beavers, chipmunks, red winged blackbirds, frogs. Not to mention horses and sheep on the edges of the park. And the occasional bigfoot (as seen in the photo below).

3. Lord Hill evokes local pride (where applicable)

Washington State is great. The Pacific Northwest is great. You don’t even need to hike in this one specific place to know that because I’m, pretty sure that’s common knowledge. When I’m outdoors in the great PNW I feel pride in where I live and how much locals care for the environment.

Tellingly, Lord Hill is managed by the Snohomish County Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Also known as DCNR, this department is dedicated to preserving this parkland for the public good in perpetuity.

I’m proud of the strong conservation legacy that’s been established here by generations of nature lovers who are dedicated to preserving natural areas for recreation and the public good.

So, when you’re hiking at Lord Hill, keep in mind that where you’re treading will be special for many more generations to come.

Where do you draw your energy from? Where do your ley lines lie, so to speak? If you’re an introvert like me, then you probably get charged up in nature. If so, I highly recommend Lord Hill County Park as the sort of place where you can lose yourself in your thoughts for a while.

I guarantee that you’ll come out of the winding trails with a fresh perspective.

And that alone is worth the (free!) price of admission.