[Hiking in Seattle] Coal Creek Trail

🌟With the weekend looking like another series of rain showers, I decided to play hooky on Friday afternoon and go for a hike. I picked one close to home at random. Nothing special about this trail, but here’s a quick note… 🌟At the Coal Creek Natural Area near New Castle Golf Course, I arrived at the parking lot around 4 PM on Friday and found it almost empty. It’s a 5.1-mile trail with a 567ft elevation gain, pretty easy and the trail conditions are excellent. 🌟The forest and streams in the valley are not bad, but there’s nothing particularly exciting either. There’s a waterfall, but it’s so small it’s almost like a joke. The unique thing about this Natural Area is that it used to be a coal mine and a ranch. After being abandoned, it gradually returned to its natural state. Along the trail, there are some mining relics and informational signs to check out. 🌟There are quite a few woodpeckers here (I didn’t bring my camera, though). Throughout the hike, I could smell kerosene from time to time… Maybe it has something to do with the coal mine. I went out for fresh air but ended up with a nose full of kerosene smell, which was a big minus… 🌟In summary: It’s okay for a quick after-work stroll if it’s close by (like it was for me); the trail is not long and the conditions are good, so it should be suitable for hiking with kids, but the kerosene smell… (It’s sunny this weekend! I’m going to climb a real mountain!) #Hiking #Outdoors #SeattleWeekend #SeattleHiking