SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve — Attraction in Covington

We were excited to check this place out. We signed our kids up for a felting class (advertised online, registered and received email confirmation). We arrived on time and could not locate any staff members. We tried the office, called, wandered all around - no one. We decided to drive the short distance to the other trail head hoping to find someone. We finally found a staff member driving out and we had to flag her down - she had no idea what we were referring to and suggested that we maybe had the wrong date. I showed her the info (posted on a flyer of theirs) and the email. She was kind but not at all helpful. It was nice to get out, but I cannot say it was worth the drive - and definitely not worth leading disappointed kids around on the very short trails. Can’t say...

SHADOW does great work with the University of Washington, State Dept of Ecology and the programs it runs for school kids to spend the day learning about ecology and the environmental history of the peat bog and surrounding area. The trail that leads to the peat bog is a mix of forest trail and a few hundred feet of boardwalk that allows you to walk through the bog without damaging the several feet of water and moss beneath you (not sure why a previous review complained about the boardwalk, it’s necessary for access).

Highly recommend a bog tour from one of the staff if they are around. The amphibian pond is very active in the spring, great...

This is an excellent nature preserve, especially since it was mostly on the effort of individuals in the community who had the forsight to preserve a sensitive habitat. There is a great little trail system, a .5 mile boardwalk out and back and rougly 1.9 miles of trail at the upland entrance. Good signage and interpretive information. Well maintained trails. Reservations made online and donations encouraged. Highly recommended visiting and...