Anacortes' Big Beaver Pond has beavers, pond lilies and more

Trail location: Anacortes, Skagit County

Length: About a 2-mile loop, connecting to additional 2-mile lake loop.

Level of difficulty: Level-to-moderate dirt/gravel trails.

Setting: Set in the middle of Fidalgo Island within the city limits of Anacortes are the 2,800 acres of forest, wetland and meadow that make up the Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL). With 55 miles of trails, these lands are beloved by locals, who take their stewardship very seriously (on visits here, I've always met people alarmed that I was writing about the area for readers beyond Anacortes). The trail loop described here offers a look at several of the ACFL's wetlands.

The trailhead kiosk holds a trail map. (It's a good idea to buy the $10 set of three ACFL maps at several places in town — see the Forest Lands Web sites).

Start down the trail, and take the first right (well-marked Trail 108). You're passing near the old city dump, which was closed in the 1980s. At the fork, go right, and follow the trail through the forest and alongside a marsh on the right with huge skunk cabbage plants. You'll reach a short boardwalk at the south end of Big Beaver Pond (yes, there are beavers here, as well as muskrat and river otter). After the boardwalk, turn left (Trail 123) to walk along the lake, where yellow pond lilies are plentiful on the surface. The standing dead cedars succumbed when Little Cranberry Lake (just north) was dammed in the early 1900s and the water level rose in both lakes. Eventually, you'll reach trail junctions: Go left on Trail 108, then left on Trail 104, above the channel that connects the two lakes, and go down to Little Cranberry Lake (it's an additional 2-mile loop around the lake). To return, go back to the top of the hill and take Trail 108, which loops back to the trailhead.

Facilities: None.

Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect.

Directions: From Interstate 5 in Skagit Valley, take Highway 20 west to Anacortes (Exit 230). In Anacortes, turn left on Commercial Avenue, jog a block right on Fidalgo Avenue and left on O Avenue, then turn right on 41st Street, go to the end of the road, and turn right on A Avenue. The kiosk and parking area is ahead a few blocks on the left.

For more information: 360-293-1918 or www.cityofanacortes.org or www.friendsoftheacfl.org.