We always visit these trails for a quick walk/hike with our dogs. They are so easy and they are wel maintained. The only problem we have is when people do not pick up after their dogs even if baggies were already provided before you enter the trails.

I wouldn't normally write a trip report for a park like this again since I wrote one a few months ago, however, I came here just to say that my dog sniffed and found so many little snakes on our walk here!

We saw snakes both right along the trail out in the open and others were more hidden in grassy areas where a human would probably not notice. Just a head's up for anyone else walking their dog or walking with small children. I had no idea there were so many snakes here (in general, in the Seattle-area). 

Just as others have stated (and what I experienced last time), no crowds here. We only saw one person and then an adult and child walking on a Saturday evening. We did manage to push a stroller on the trails here but it definitely gets a bit bumpy the further north you go. (Our baby can sleep pretty much through anything but if we return again, I'd probably put the baby in a carrier). 

Considering that these trails are nestled between highways 9 and 522 and on the same property as a wastewater treatment plan, they were fun to explore. Trails are well maintained, the bridges are nice, the signage is good and the educational signs are interesting.  You do hear the roar of traffic from pretty much everywhere, but it’s still nice to be in nature.  My 80 yr old mom and I encountered a few joggers, people with their dogs, and also two lovely ladies who have been meeting here weekly for some exercise all through the pandemic. I would like to return for a public tour of the treatment plant once they are restarted.  

The hiking trail at the Brightwater center is a clean and well-maintained gravel path that is suitable for hiking for everyone, including biking trips across the area. The hiking landscape is mostly dirt and grass hills surrounding the trails, which is mostly plain and empty in terms of scenery. Similar to other Washington trails, the paths at Brightwater have grass, trees, and many bushes around the gravel paths. The entrance to the trail is located at a small parking lot in front of the Brightwater center treatment plant, which is usually never full. Despite the fact that the trail's entrance is located at the offices and treatment plant of the Brightwater center, the buildings itself are not a part of the natural hiking area. The trails are not very crowded, as there were only a few groups of people on the hiking paths. The various trails split off into different trails such as the North Wetscape Loop Trail and the North Habitat Walking Trails over the course of a new miles ahead of the paths, and both lead directly from the origin at the Brightwater center. 

Alongside the trail is a small pond, which occasionally will have ducks sitting it in it throughout the day. Overall, the plain natural scenery and clean gravel paths that consistently stretch for the entire length of the hiking area makes the Brightwater paths a simple walk accessible to anyone interested in exploring the nearby hiking locations. My main impressions of this trail is that it was generally a pleasantly clean hike in terms of smell and scenery, and the parking lot was ample with good maintenance, similar to the good condition of the nearby trails.

While this isn't really a hike, I did want to pop a quick review up to let folks know that the bridge resurfacing project has been completed and all trails are now open again.

If you're a local and on the fence about Brightwater, let me try to persuade you to visit. The trails are wide, which makes social distancing easy. Everything is nicely graded with no obstacles to go over, so I wouldn't hesitate to call this one ADA-compliant for wheelchairs, as well as people with strollers. No bikes allowed, but dogs on leashes are a-OK. It's always a bit quiet and with so many looping trails, it's easy to build up mileage if desired. I use this park multiple times a week to either walk with my dogs, or run circuits outdoors without having to dodge the aggro bike commuters on the Burke-Gilman/Sammamish Slough trail.

That being said, while it's a diamond in the rough for the neighborhood, I wouldn't travel any great distance to visit.