Big Gulch Trail System — Attraction in Mukilteo

The pros are it is a nice trail that is well maintained and easy to follow with great terrain for an easy but exercising hike through beautiful woods. Another nice pro is that there are multiple access points with parking so it has plenty of that. The cons are that most of the water along the route is leakage from the sewer pipes that run through the gulch to the treatment plant at the end of the trail. It stinks and seriously diminishes this hike and keeping any pets you bring out of the water and mud is impossible so you'll have to bring water to wash their paws before you let them back in the car. The other bad feature is when you get to the end there is nothing to see (except a road that quickly ends at the treatment plant and is posted); so we turned around at the road. The map makes it look like you'll, at least be able to see the ocean/sound but you cannot.

I would do it again because of location but I will look for better places before I go back and would be willing to drive another 20 minutes to avoid the smell and hassle of...

Many entrances, especially from the rich suburbanite golf ball holder’s club (Harbour Pointey)

Muddy from the beginning and sometimes feels artificial. Okay.

When you get into the thick of it it becomes nicer. It is less muddy as you go on. Nice, and also has many vertical slopes down. Nice. People say it smells like sewage. I don’t know I didnt smell it.

Dropping the funky writing for a second, There is a part I really like about midway through the trail where seemingly century old trees the size of several stories loom over this wide sloping down path. It is really nice and comforting. There is also a thin path next to a cliff’s edge which made me nervous but thats a plus in my book.

This gulch is a good gulch although its hard to get accustomed to.

At the end there is a closes off wastewater facility with an open road with no cars. I like it at the end.

Its very linear, very few to no branching paths, the average width of the path is thin, the dirt is prone to wetness. You doo feel like you are in a gulch...

Big Gulch trail is a great big forest running through the middle of Mukilteo. When you walk through it it doesn't feel like you are in the city anymore! You can use the trail to get to many different parts of the city (library, a park, some condos, that highway that heads out to Boeing, etc.) It has been nicely taken care of with bridges and benches to sit at all along the way. They have just recently put in new signs explaining the Gulch all along the trail. I found that parts of the trail can be really muddy so bring appropriate footwear. Unfortunately you can't take the trail down to the beach since it ends at someone's private road. That would be awesome if you could take it down...