Redmond Watershed Preserve — Attraction in Redmond

4 stars for young kids. I took my 5 yr old and 3 yr old here on a hike on Trillium Trail. It was easy for them except the distance was too long. We went from the south parking lot to the pond and back, about three hours for me and my young kids. They burned out a little before we reached the pond.The trail is not paved, but mulched. Trillium trail is stroller friendly, even for strollers with small wheels. The mulch has been ground up finely and packed down. Lots of twists and turns and slight ups and downs, tiny bridges. There aren't a lot of places to sit down though. We saw one bench. The only bathrooms were back at the parking lot. Mostly shaded if you're on Trillium Trail. The Powerline Trail looked like almost no shade. I give this place 4 stars because the "pond" on the NW side of the park was so low it wasn't a pond (in July). Also, it was mostly fun except it got long and arduous for the little kids. Next time we'll go only halfway on Trillium Trail and we'll start at the pond so we'll not have hiked so far in vain in case we burn out early or if the...

Two weeks ago my husband and I went on the 2 mile loop trail in the watershed reserve and we came right up on three black bears, a mom and her cubs. She charged at us but thankfully she turned around. It was the scariest moment of our lives. One second we are on a relaxing troll on the trail, then a mile into the walk we are surprised by bears and running for our lives. I just want to warn other new people to the Redmond area that bears are common around here and to educate themselves before they enter trails and hikes in the area. In a bear encounter, if it’s black (bear) fight back, if it’s brown lay down.

Other than the nearly life ending bear encounter, the watershed reserve was well kept and had...

The Watershed is the premier running location for many Eastside and even Seattle based runners. The perimeter loop is about 5 miles, with several shorter options available. Several other trails are accessible from the Watershed. I enjoy the trails in the Redmond Ridge, Trilogy, and Tuscany neighborhoods. You could even piece together a 20 mile long run from here without (hardly) ever touching pavement. The Watershed is also popular with hikers and equestrians. A couple things to watch out for is that pets are not allowed in the Watershed Preserve, bicycles are only allowed on the main pipeline trail, and equestrians are not allowed on the...