When I arrived at Southwest County Park this morning, about 7:40 a.m. on Thursday 18 May 2023, there were already two cars in the parking area on Olympic View Drive. By the parking area is a main sign with park information and a map of the trail system, which includes an inner and an outer loop, with a marker for where the sign is located "You are here" on the lower left.
The sunlight was a little more golden/yellow than normal due to wildfire smoke haze. The air was warm and birds sang throughout out my walk around the outer loop. They flitted from branch to branch and rustled about in the brush on the ground. I encountered juncos, song sparrows, rufous-sided towhees, a rufous hummingbird, and a gray squirrel while walking. Wildflowers were in bloom and salmonberry plants bore both blooms and not yet ripe fruit.
For the outer trail, I found the path to be relatively flat and easy to traverse. I paid attention to road positioning as I walked as I could glimpse it through the trees at different points on the trail. It started on my right (I went counterclockwise around the outer loop), so I knew I was nearing full-circle when it switched back to being on my right again. I missed the parking area by one side trail and ended up coming out at the end of the lot instead of the main trailhead. Fun park to enjoy the wilderness. read more