Jack's Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Spring

Island Center Forest's routes are mostly flat and smooth. Road or trail shoes work fine on these easy trails. Expect to share them with other hikers, runners, cyclists, and horseback riders. Take note that there are several singletracks branching off the established trail system and leading to local residents' backyards.

Dogs are not permitted in the Mukai or Meadowlake Pond areas but are allowed throughout the rest of the trail. They are required to remain "either leashed or under strict sight and voice control," according to local regulations.

Generally, visitors should elect to use the 188th Street Trailhead, as it has the most parking. Paper maps are available here and at the Mukai and Cemetery Trailheads.

Named for a local avid horseman who was a frequent sight along the trails until his passing, Jack's Trail is an interesting half-mile connection to the center of the trail system.

Jack's begins near the Westside Trailhead, a short distance into Dump Run. Head east on a path that varies between double and singletrack. While this route tends to be muddier than others in the area, especially following wet weather, it's not hard to cut a dry path on the fast, gently graded descent. A few baseball-sized stones add some light challenge, but it's not a technical run by any means.

As Jack's proceeds, it weaves among towering firs that seem to rise up forever. Some signs along the way explain the growth of the new forest in this area; look for them posted on a few trees about two tenths of a mile in.

A quick succession of connectors are found as the trail bottoms out near the end, with Owl Trail and Sunny's Trail leading to Grinder and a segment shortcutting to the Middle Fork - North Trail - Techmo intersection. Jump over a tiny creek crossing between Owl and Sunny's. An inviting moss-lined curve finishes out Jack's a little further up Middle Fork. Just about any path departing from this point will head somewhere interesting.

Originally a state-owned area logged to provide revenue for Washington's education system, Island Center Forest was passed to King County Parks in 2002 as a model for sustainable forest management. Owing to its history, the area exhibits a mix of both old growth and restoration areas. Many local tree species grow here, including enormous firs and one of the Island's largest areas of quaking aspens.

Animal life includes smaller woodland creatures and deer, but the biggest draw to Island Forest is the wide variety of birds, more than eighty species in all. The wetland areas around Mukai and Meadowlake Ponds draw bird watchers from around the region.