Nature Preserve

Turtleback Mountain is a great place to hike and bird watch. The South trail is pedestrian-only. Take the hike up from here to Ship's Peak for a great view -- and great views on the way as well. Be prepared to stop and enjoy.

This is a small nature preserve near Eastsound. The trail here is easy and on a Summer morning there were quite a few joggers running through the trail. Mostly forested, with a few more open meadow areas. Good hike for families wanting a short hike.

Mount Constitution is in Moran State Park. There's a hiking trail up the mountain, but there's also a road. At the top you'll find a stone tower which offers stunning views -- particularly at sunset, though the park closes at dusk.

Large groups of trumpeter swans overwinter in Whatcom County. Reports have been seen near the Samish River Wildlife area. The marker, here is general and approximate.

Fir Island is another wildlife refuge area where you might find wintering trumpeter swans.

Keta Legacy Foundation Rhodedendron Preserve is a 426-acre preserve in Seabeck containing miles of streams which host several varieties of spawning salmon every year.

Nature reserve and one of the official passport stops on the North Coast 500.

Somehow, on our route, Knockan Crag is another of the official North Coast 500 places we bypassed.

This is a nature preserve -- get out and take a hike in the hills.

The photo, here is by Graeme Churchard on Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

This is a park with a small footpath that takes you down to Shadow Lake. The trumpeter swans mostly stay to the other side of the lake, but are easy to view, especially if you bring binoculars or a long camera lens. It's fun to watch the swans take off in the morning.

We've posted a hike along the trail here on one of our routes pages.