Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve

Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve August 2011

Spiraea douglasii at the Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve August 2011

Cornus stolonifera at the Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve August 2011

Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve August 2011

 

Nuphar polysepalum at the Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve August 2011

Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve August 2011

The Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve is basically a large beaver pond tucked between housing developments & a golf course in the City of Issaquah in King County, east of Seattle.  A forested area surrounds it.  I went there with a friend in August of 2011.  I'll leave it to you to find directions on the web, because we had a very difficult time finding the place.  There are no signs leading to the preserve.  You can't see the sign for the preserve until you actually enter it, through a narrow corridor between 2 houses.  After asking several people on the street who never heard of it, we finally found someone who directed us to the entrance.  It is certainly worth the effort to find.  I was amazed that such a large beaver pond could exist in the middle of suburbia.  It's the sort of thing I've seen only when hiking in national forests or wilderness areas.  We saw 2 beaver dams, but no lodge or beavers.  If you can get good directions, it's only 30 minutes from Seattle.  Click here for a slideshow of the: Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve.