The Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve is a property in Sammamish owned by Forterra (formerly known as Cascade Land Conservancy.) I had never hiked there before, so headed there after hiking the loop trail in nearby Beaver Lake Preserve. I checked www.sammamishwalks.org for a trail map, then parked at the small trailhead lot along 248th Ave SE, in an unglamorous location under a high-voltage power line. There is an information board at the beginning of the trail. The first 1,500 feet of the access trail pass a few back yards of homes on Windsor Dr SE before reaching the boundary of the preserve. In another 500 feet I found the signed junction with Ann's Walking Trail that circles the wetland area on the south, east and north sides. Ann's Trail is open only to slow-paced foot traffic, and even jogging is discouraged. The ongoing Main Trail remains friendly to joggers, leashed dogs and even to equestrians, and it continues on north along the west side of the wetland, eventually reaching Main Drive at an unsigned location under the power line. I turned onto Ann's Trail and soon reached the sturdy bridge crossing Laughing Jacobs Creek, an outlet stream of the wetland. I visualized some past exuberant hiker laughing maniacally here. Just north of the bridge a major beaver dam is visible, and a smaller dam can be seen south of the bridge. The ongoing trail passes near the east end of the large beaver dam, offering a close-up view of its construction. A bit farther along, a connecting trail arrives from Beaver Lake Preserve Park. At this end, the connecting trail is marked with a makeshift sign declaring it "Fred's Way." The ongoing Ann's Trail offers many views through the trees out to the wetland. It's hard to judge the depth of the water, but it's shallow enough everywhere for a few lily pads to grow. I could see some ducks in the distance, but almost all were too far away for good photo ops. I also heard occasional honks of geese. The trail loops around to the north end of the wetland, where a viewing platform looks out across the water. In the distance, I could make out the summits of West Tiger No 1 and No 2 with their electronic gear on top. Soon after, Ann's Trail rejoined the Main Trail about 1/3 mile north of the southern junction. I took the Main Trail south back to the trailhead to complete my hike.

Decided to do a quiet hike not far from home. The trail to the Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve begins at the Beaver Lake Preserve trailhead. The trail goes north to a junction with the Soaring Eagle Park and the Beaver Lake Preserve loop trail. We headed west and came to another junction, and took the trail that goes to the Hazel Wolf Wetlands. The trail goes around a large beaver pond and we did it counter clockwise. At the north end of the pond there is a bridge across the wetlands. A little further on is a side trail going down to a wooden platform over the water with a nice view to the south over the water. We could see Tiger Mountain in the distance. From there we came to another junction with the main trail heading south along the west side of the pond. There is a kiosk with information about the wetlands and how the area was saved from development. Hazel Wolf was one of the key people who helped save the wetlands back in 1995. There is a photo of her at the dedication ceremony when she was 100 years old. The Land Conservancy oversees protection of the wetlands. The trail around the pond and wetlands goes across a steel truss bridge at the outlet end of the pond over a creek with several old beaver dams to be seen. We then hiked back to the Beaver Lake Preserve trail and headed south on it, crossed Beaver Lake Drive SE and went down to Picnic Meadows at Beaver Lake. No picnic tables at the grassy meadow. From the lake we finished the Beaver Lake Preserve loop trail back to the parking lot. Room for about a dozen cars and does have a sanican. We did not see any other hikers on this trip. To find the parking lot for this hike, head east on SE 24th Street from 228th Ave. SE in Sammamish. Go past Beaver Lake Park on Beaver Lake Drive SE to the Beaver Lake Preserve parking lot on the north side of the road.