The Arboretum is nice and thick with all its vegetation giving a little more insulation from the city sounds. The trial is looking great and crews have finished doing rerouting work on areas, you can almost not tell where the old trail was with all the ferns growing and the great job they did , also they now have finished putting in trail post markers with small maps indicating "you are here" to help people explore and enjoy this trail system. I saw plenty of people out enjoying the trails hikers, runners and walkers in various age groups. The Western Campus side of Sehome was busy with family and friends moving out students from the nearby dorms today. Hike or walk the Sehome Hill Arboretum there is miles of trails to explore or just to enjoy the this great place in our city.

Sehome Arboretum is shaping up. Trails on the east side of the hill are getting more attention by WTA crews by clearing downed trees and trail reconstruction and rerouting, with some possible new trail access coming from Bill Mac Pkwy. It appeared to be flagged out for clearing of a new path. Trails where looking good, drying out and spring foliage was getting ready to pop out very soon. There were closures today on the hill  with the tower parking lot closed as well as the end of Douglas Fir Trail and access to the Observation tower, due to the new cell tower being erected in the west corner of the top parking lot. I had to do a little back tracking  in order to gain access to Huntoon trail on the campus side since the upper parking lot had crews and fencing around it. The Arboretum was coming back to life today with buds everywhere opening up and giving their spring fragrances into the air. All other trails seemed in great shape. Go hike the hill, its a great place to explore and get out with little driving and less foot traffic than most areas, or volunteer to do some work on the Arboretum April 6th and 7th 2018 is a WTA work party.

Sehome Arboretum is one of my favorite hidden gems - in plain sight and smack dab in the middle of the city. Where you can go with a short travel time and still get out into the trees. Little foot traffic here compared to the trails within the Chuckanut Mountains. There are several ways to get onto the trails on Sehome Arboretum, one is the main road up 25th street. From the parking lot, you can take the Tower Trail directly to the Observation Tower and get a few views during the Fall or Winter months after the leaves have fallen. With the growth of the trees around the Observation Tower, views have been shrinking over the years, but it is still a nice place to check out. There are many trails on Sehome Hill that branch out all over in different directions with all kinds of levels of difficulty. In recent months on the East side of Sehome Hill, the city has been putting in brown posts where trails intersect, possibly maps will be placed on them in the future. My favorite access is Jersey St. trail head. From here, start up the Resevoir trail and take the first left down a small hill and continue through the woods. This trail crosses and weaves through the best looking contours of the hill in my opinion, with sandstone rock faces along the trails and a feeling of being deep in the woods if it wasn't for the ever present I-5 sounds in the distance - but that is to be expected when you are in the middle of the city. This trail continues just below Huntoon Trail for a while and eventually crosses the Tunnel Ridge Trail. Continue straight and you will find your way to the main road, "25th St" where the trail continues, here are some new posts as well as 3 old cement moss covered round trail markers and a large rock face just ahead. Heading West, you have trail options with different levels of difficulty with the South Ridge Trail being the most strenuous. From this point, you can also connect to Fairhaven Trail that turns into Huntoon Trail and connects with South Reservoir Trail.  Take this down and find a path on either side of the old Reservoir and you will be on the North Ridge Trail. Descend down heading north and you will find Jersey St. Trail Head for a complete loop. Many animals make Sehome Hill their home. You can find deer, chipmunks, squirrels and many types of birds with the Pileated Woodpecker being my favorite to watch. Huntoon Trail near the Observation Tower is usually the best area to spot them busy at work looking for insects.