Secluded, swampy world offers escape from busy life in the city

By Natalie Singer
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

BRIAN CASSELLA / THE SEATTLE TIMES Brian Beaulac, in left kayak, and Angie Beaulac and Joseph Raineri, in right kayak, paddle through Mercer Slough Nature Park. The park is a 320-acre wetland park with more than three miles of waterways and more than eight miles of trails located just south of downtown Bellevue.

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Near the shore of Lake Washington, at the southern end of Bellevue, you can take a trip into the city's past. Pack a lunch, grab a hat and dive into a peaceful refuge hidden among the busy streets and gleaming skyscrapers of Bellevue.

Although you can explore the trails and boardwalks on foot, the best way to travel is by kayak or canoe. The important thing is to slip into Mercer Slough quietly, leaving the blue swells and big mansions of the lake behind as you enter a secluded, swampy world that remains much the same as 100 years ago.

The southern tip of the four-mile slough forms just under the Interstate 90 bridge; nearby are two spots to launch rentals or your own kayak/canoe. As you glide past the span's giant concrete pillars and the families of plump geese that bathe and sun themselves in the shallow pools, wave goodbye to modern Bellevue.

The slough is a narrow channel winding through 320 acres of wetlands that make up Mercer Slough Nature Park. Floating on the glassy surface, you're sheltered on either side by walls of jumbled growth. It's known as a "wetland forest," explains Park Ranger Debra Pettersson.

Many of the plants you see were used for thousands of years by Native Americans before white settlers arrived.

Look closely and you'll notice the bright, waxy leaves of rhododendrons, the stands of cherry and hazelnut trees, and a cattail marsh where red-winged blackbirds build their nests — listen and you'll hear their trill. Dense thickets of blackberry, salmonberry, elderberry and dogwood line the banks, and dragonflies and butterflies swoop about. A mossy smell infuses the humid air.

Watch for snow-white water lilies bobbing on the channel's edge; if it's sunny a frog might be perched on a pad. As you move deeper down the channel the din of the urban world fades.

Soon you'll come upon a footbridge that crosses the slough. Before gliding underneath, park your craft at the small dock on the left and take a break to explore the slough's central feature — its blueberry farm — on foot.

In 1869, Aaron Mercer farmed 80 acres of flowers, vegetables and fruit along the western edge of the slough. Waters were five feet higher then, and the swamp extended much farther north.

But when the water level of Lake Washington was lowered between 1916-17 for the opening of the ship canal, much of the slough and its surrounding marshes dried up. Canals were dug, creating marshes at lower levels, and blueberries were grown in the bogs along the channel's western border.

Years later, the city acquired the land and now manages 22 acres of blueberries. Visitors can pick their own for $1 a pound at Overlake Blueberry Farm, and whatever's left gets sold on the market. The profits help the parks department keep the farm going — something done mainly for cultural preservation and education.

The effort is a constant challenge. In essence, the current operation of Lake Washington works against the farm: The Army Corps of Engineers lowers the lake's water level in the winter and raises it for boats in the summer; the opposite of a natural cycle.

This nearly floods the blueberry bogs during the growing months, something the city fights with a small pump that tries to suck out water faster than it comes in.

"It's like a dog chasing its tail," says Geoff Bradley, natural-resource supervisor for the city's parks department.

But somehow, it works, and for next to nothing during the summer, visitors can harvest some of the plumpest berries around.

Back inside your kayak, paddle on. The central part of the channel is crowded with wildlife; more than 100 species of birds have been sighted. Graze the banks for a tree stump or a tall cottonwood to spot a great blue heron, frozen in a majestic stance as it waits to spear its supper. Large as a turkey, its breast streaked with shades of blue, this bird is one of the most stunning you'll find in the slough.

You might also see a red-tailed hawk, scouring the park below for small prey. Beavers, muskrats and river otters lurk in the water. Shiny black turtles lounge on logs, and cottontail rabbits scamper along the shore. Ducks and their fuzz-covered babies dip and dunk in the cool canal.

Up ahead is the section of the slough that might bring you back to reality, but only if you let it. The channel winds its way past a business park, and those buildings can be seen among the drooping willows. But the northern tip of the slough is also the most bayoulike, and it's here where you can get the best water-level views of the park's most fascinating feature: the peat bog. The mossy, mucky underbelly of the slough and surrounding land was formed when vegetation grew and then died back but did not fully decompose into soil because of a lack of oxygen, explains Pettersson, the ranger. The peat bog is 10 stories deep, and it takes 100 years for 1 inch of peat to form. Its origins date back to the days when glaciers covered Bellevue.

You can see the top layer of the peat, which looks like a massive, moist, grass-topped brownie, at certain spots along the shore near the office park. Though the muck is a good base for a bustling ecosystem, it hasn't been great for business. The office park and some nearby streets that were built on top of the bog have been slowly sinking for decades.

Curve around the business park and you've reached the end of the channel. Put your paddle down. Breathe in the musty scent and listen for the swamp gas that bubbles up to the surface. Think about what this place might have felt like 100, 200, 5,000 years ago.

Then, slowly glide your craft around, head back down the slough and search for all the amazing sights you missed.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com

IF YOU GO

If you go

What

Mercer Slough Nature Park is a 320-acre wetland park with more than three miles of waterways and more than eight miles of trails located just south of downtown Bellevue. Entrance is free, and the park is open from dawn until dusk.

Where

Trails leave from the historic Winters House, 2102 Bellevue Way S.E. (425-452-2752). Or rent a kayak or canoe at the Enatai Beach Boathouse, 3519 108th Ave. S.E. (425-430-0111). Overlake Blueberry Farm is at 2380 Bellevue Way S.E. (425-467-0501). Guided walking and canoe tours, some free, leave from various sites (425-452-2752).

What to do

Guided nature walks and canoe tours; self-guided interpretive tour; blueberry farm; the historic Winters House; eight miles of trails including asphalt, boardwalk and soft surface; environmental programs and classes; ; open meadows for picnicking; heron rookery; part of the Lake Washington-to-Lake Sammamish trail system; free birding list and other brochures.

More information

Get more information, including maps and activity listings, at www.cityofbellevue.org under "parks" or by visiting the Winters House.

Exploring the Eastside is an occasional series spotlighting the Eastside's special places. If you've got a suggestion, send it to east@seattletimes.com or call us at 425-453-2130.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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