PADILLA BAY, Skagit County — In the mucky marshland along Indian Slough, a long-limbed great blue heron pokes about, as if searching for one last gift she'd yet to open. Not finding it, she lopes up into the tall upland grasses, perhaps with the intention of burning off a few hundred calories after a holiday-season morning spent munching on frogs, fish, mice and moles.

Not a bad idea for humans either — getting out for an afternoon constitutional to work off some of that holiday ham, turkey, lefse and sweet potato-marshmallow casserole.

Here are five terrific options, lowland (usually snow-free) trails that, along with the opportunity to breathe fresh, crisp outdoor winter air, offer superb scenery.

Padilla Bay Shore Trail

Located about six miles west of Mount Vernon, this 2.12-mile (one-way) dike-top trail passes through the 11,000-acre Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Established to preserve the bay's mix of rich mud flats and eelgrass beds — so special and tasty that each year, scores of Brant geese fly for three days straight from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to pig out on the stuff — the reserve is a haven for bird-watchers. Search the marshes and surrounding farm fields for herons, Northern harriers, bald eagles, snow geese, swans and more. The trail itself is pool-table flat with the south half following Indian Slough and the north half tracing the Padilla Bay shoreline.

Getting there: From Interstate 5 in Skagit County, head west from Burlington on Highway 20 for about six miles to Bayview-Edison Road. Turn right; the south-end parking lot is a half-mile ahead on the left.

Boulder River Trail

Though one of the more rugged in this group of five — a mile in, the trail enters designated wilderness — the Boulder River Trail still rates easy on the difficulty scale and thus qualifies quite nicely for a get-off-the-couch-and-get-outside destination. A major drawing card — besides massive, moss-hung trees in one of the biggest stands of low-level, old-growth forests around — is a spectacular 80-foot waterfall about 1.2 miles in.

Known in most guidebooks as "Unnamed Falls," the tumbling cascade curtains dramatically across a jagged rock face eliciting involuntary oohs and ahhhs from viewers. A couple nearby trail-side falls are also impressive. The entire trail is 9 miles (round trip), but if it's just falls and forest you're looking for, you can earn that in less than three miles round trip.

Getting there: From Arlington, head east on Highway 530 to Forest Road 2010 at milepost 41. (It's also called French Creek Road.) Follow for four miles to the Boulder River Trailhead parking lot.

Talus Loop Trail

Sure, Mount Si's reputation is widely known: It's beautiful but it's crowded, steep and strenuous. What people might not know, however, is that from the same trailhead, one can access a lovely lowland loop that offers a Si-esque experience for a lot less sighing. (Audible groan goes here.)

The Talus Loop begins by following the Mount Si Trail (admittedly, climbing a bit as it does so) for the first 0.7 mile, but at that point detours to the right and traverses the mountain's lower flanks through semi-open forest.

About a mile from the intersection, reach the trail's namesake: a broad talus slope with open views to peaks and ridges above the Snoqualmie River Valley.

Eventually, the trail ducks back into the woods and rejoins the main Mount Si Trail a little more than a mile from where you first left it.

Getting there: Take Interstate 90 to Exit 32 in North Bend. Go north on 436th Avenue Southeast. In about a half-mile, turn left onto North Bend Way. Follow it for 0.3 mile and turn right on Mount Si Road. Follow for 2.4 miles to the well-signed trailhead on the left.

Lake Youngs Trail

Part of the King County Regional Trail system, this nine-plus-mile loop just east of Kent is a wonderful holiday (or really any day) walking destination. Mostly wooded and mostly wide, the gravel pathway scrolls through suburbia, open fields, dense forest and everything in between. Hills are minimal.

The name can seem a bit misleading; while the trail does indeed encircle Lake Youngs, it does so at a distance and the lake is not really visible. No matter; it's still a terrific spot for bipedal perambulation.

Getting there: Go south from Renton on Highway 169. Turn right onto 140th Way Southeast. Go about two miles to Southeast Petrovitsky Road and turn left. In just over a mile, turn right on Old Petrovitsky Road; parking is about a half-mile ahead on the right.

American Camp,

San Juan Island

Offseason visits to the San Juan Islands have an almost magical quality. Same stunning scenery but the crowds have disappeared. For a nice variety of beach, bluff and forest walks, head to American Camp on the island's south side. Near the visitor center, the Prairie Walks offer self-guided history tours through grassy meadows detailing the Pig War, when U.S. and British troops nearly came to blows over the misadventures of a single swine.

Or head down to South Beach to enjoy the sheer power, size and awesome beauty of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. If it's clear, you'll be wowed by views of the Olympics towering over the peninsula as you pick your way east across the driftwood-strewn beach for about 1.5 miles to the Cattle Point Lighthouse, an excellent turnaround point. Note: Expect wind.

Getting there: Take Washington State Ferries from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. Once in town, head south on Mullis Street, which becomes Cattle Point Road, and follow for about six miles into American Camp at San Juan Island National Historical Park.

Mike McQuaide is a Bellingham freelance writer and author of "Day Hike! Central Cascades" and "Day Hike! North Cascades" (Sasquatch Books). He can be reached at mikemcquaide@comcast.net.