Recently I wrote a post called Story Walk, about a fun feature in the Lake Wilderness Arboretum here in Washington that lets you read a story while walking in the woods. I was so delighted about this idea that I had to post it first. But the Arboretum itself is so amazing that I decided it also needed a post all its own.
This arboretum was a civic dream in the 1960’s, and after King County donated land that used to belong to a resort, it came into being in the 1970’s. It now belongs to the city of Maple Valley. It’s free to the public daily, from dawn to dusk.
Its 40 acres is divided up into a Rock Garden, a Children’s Discovery Forest, a Legacy Garden, a Perennial Garden, the Smith-Mossman Garden, The Tribal Life Trail, the Woodland Garden, and a Nursery.
Naturally, it is full of amazing flowers and plants, but as you explore, you’ll come across many other features. There’s the Story Walk, of course, but also you’ll find two little free libraries, which thrilled me, as well as a pergola, a pond, a gazebo, a flagstone patio, a play house, and two totem poles.
This isn’t the largest arboretum I’ve ever visited by any stretch of the imagination, but it is quite obviously lovingly cared for. And it’s easy to wander right off the arboretum and into many forested paths to the north, a lovely park to the east and south which includes a lodge and borders a large lake suitable for swimming, a baseball field and tennis court to the south, and a disc golf course to the west.
Here are some of the photos we took on the day. Both of the forest ones were taken north of the arboretum. We hadn’t realized we had gotten lost at the time. But it was still beautiful. Enjoy!
The ultimate form of recycling: Buy my book, read it, and then donate it to your local public library or your neighborhood little free library! http://amzn.to/2mlPVh5
The View from a Drawbridge 