1) Lord Hill Park - It's located at 12921 150th St SE in Snohomish. There are several signs to point you in the right direction of the park. This 1463 acre park contains 6 miles of varying style trails. The trails at this park are great for family hikes, casual strolls in nature or moderate level hikes. Some trails are great for equestrian riders and it's also a popular spot for mountain bikers. The numerous paths allow people to experience a variety of terrains from swamps, to open fields, to woodlands. Some hikes allow for a wonderful, awe inspiring view of Snohomish. The park is also dog friendly. There are picnic areas at the entrance and at the top of Devil's Butte Lookout so you can plan a picnic before, during or after your hike. This large nature preserve offers the opportunity to see many different wildlife species too. My husband and I loved going on the more difficult hikes prior to having a little wild one. However, now we enjoy the shorter, family friendly hikes. These hikes allows us to get out and get us and the dogs exercise without going too far from home. Calvin isn't great at walking either. He's in that very inconvenient middle stage where he doesn't want to sit still for too long but he also doesn't want to walk in one direction for too long yet either. My arm muscles are getting pretty buff, let me tell you. But I digress. The point is that the shorter hikes are great for getting him used to the hiking back pack and allowing him to get out and walk a bit once he's had enough. The trails are kept pretty clear but I do not feel that they are marked very clearly.
2) Riverfront Trail- It's a great historic and scenic walk along downtown Snohomish and the Snohomish River. You can easily access the trail from a couple of locations right off of First Street in downtown Snohomish. There are several entrances into the river from the walk. We have only recently discovered this walk, during the winter, so we have yet to get into the water via these entrances. I mentioned earlier that Calvin is not great at sitting still for very long. Stroller walks can sometimes be painful for both of us when he decides he is finished and we still have to get back to the car. He is too big to carry while holding the dogs and pushing the stroller so these episodes result in the offering of snacks, giving of toys, me singing and bouncing the stroller and all other sorts of distraction techniques to placate him until we make it to the all mighty car. The riverfront walk is less than a mile both ways. It's along the river so there is plenty for you and the little one to look at. To me, it's a really calming walk too since you can hear the rushing of the river. Along the walk there are benches and there are historical plaques providing education about the town. I also like that the path is well paved and easy to take a stroller along. So far we have managed all our stroller walks along this path without any break downs, fingers crossed it stays that way!
3) Snohomish Library- In another blog post I wrote about the amazing resource that is the library. In that post I focused on the Evergreen Branch of the Everett Library, which is where we used to go to attend the waddler story time classes. Unfortunately, that library is currently under remodeling and so story time classes are not happening at that location. We needed to find another library and another program. We are equally as impressed with the Snohomish Library. First of all it is a large, beautiful library. The children's section is spacious. They have a dedicated play space full of a variety of toys for the kiddos. They have fun activities on the walls and eye catching art. There are also a ton of books for the kids to select from. There are bins down low full of a variety of baby and toddler books too. There are plenty of table and benches for families to sit down and enjoy stories together.
We have been attending the Toddler (19 month-36 month) story time class from 10-1045. These classes consistently have a theme in which the activities and stories are based on. The story time is composed of reading several stories, dancing, singing, music and instruments and visuals to go with the stories. After the story time are bubbles, play time and a craft. The library provides a large selection of age appropriate toys for the kids to play with. The crafts are fun, short and related to the theme. Calvin has always seemed interested in the crafts but they are more designed for the older toddlers. Therefore, he quickly looses interest and it turns into my craft project. Due to the popularity of this program the classes are usually pretty packed so be prepared and come early. The library is located at 311 Maple Ave S.
4) Tillicum Kiwanis Playground- I love that this park is located just a couple of blocks away from the library. After story time we usually head to the park for a bit to burn off some more energy so he will go home and crash for his nap. The park is also his reward for being good during story time. It's a small park but you can't beat the convenience of the location. The equipment is more suitable for older toddlers and kids but Calvin loves the equipment that he can use. There is a picnic bench and a large grassy area too.
5) Snohomish Aquatic Center- This was a magical unicorn find for sure! The aquatic center in Snohomish is a fun small indoor water park that appeals to all ages and offers a variety of class and activities including: swim classes, fitness and training classes and party rentals. They have a competition lap pool, a hot tub, a lazy river, a huge water slide, a surf simulator and a splash zone low entry pool. They literally have everything that any merman, merwoman or merchild would want at this center! Right now we have just been using the Spray and Play area and the competition pool for the balls and hoops they put in during the open rec swim hour. I've put their website below so that you can view their classes and see what times the various pools and areas are open.
https://www.sno.wednet.edu/Page/41
On top of everything they offer it is really cheap! Since my son, Calvin, is under 2 he is free and it's $6 for an adult for the open rec swim, so for the two of us it's just $6 for a guaranteed good time and a worn out kiddo.
They also have family changing rooms, lockers and showers at their facility. In addition to that they have a snack booth and drink stand in case parents, and/or kids, need an energizing boost before or after the swim.
I hope that you have as much fun exploring Snohomish with your little wild one as we have! If you have any other suggestions for fun activities or places to take kiddos in Snohomish then please let me know!
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