West
Hylebos State Park
West Hylebos Wetlands State Park is a 68-acre day-use
park outstanding for its wetland vegetation and rare plants. More than
110 species of birds and 62 varieties of plants populate the park. The
park also features ponds and sinkholes.
Location:
West Hylebos is located in King County between south 348th and southwest
356th Street; 1st Avenue South and Pacific Highway South (Hwy. 99).
The park is in the incorporated city of Federal Way.
Acreage:
Approximately 68 acres.
Acquired:
The park was acquired in five parcels; the first in 1981 and the last
in 1987.
Historical Background:
The park and its one-mile nature trail are the work of Francis and Ilene
Marckx. Their home is adjacent to the park.
Facilities:
None
Of Special Interest:
In this park, a nature trail, most of it on a wood path plankway,
loops through a forest and bog at the headwaters of Hylebos Creek. The
park is known for its ecological significance and rare bird and plant
life.
Signposts on the nature trail identify more than 50 different plants.
Other interpretive signs explain natural phenomena.
Activities:
Trails
1 mi. Hiking Trails
Other
Bird Watching
Interpretive Activities
Wildlife Viewing
Featured Creatures
Mammals
Chipmunks
Coyotes
Minks
Raccoons
Squirrels
Weasels
Birds
Crows or Ravens
Doves or Pigeons
Ducks
Eagles
Geese
Grouse
Gulls
Hawks
Herons
Hummingbirds
Jays
Ospreys
Owls
Snipes
Woodpeckers
Wrens
Fish & Sea
Life
Salmon
Environmental Features
Physical Features
Sinkholes, a foot or so in diameter at the surface and over 20 feet
deep, are viewable from side platforms along the trail. Also visible
from these platforms are glacial erratics, drumlins, and the sticky
black sediments deposited by the ice sheet that covered the area over
12,000 years ago.
One section of the park showcases "living fossils" -- trees
like coast redwood, ginkgo and giant sequoia, planted in the park as
examples of the forests that covered the region some 30 million years
ago.
There is 25-30 inches of annual rainfall.
Plant Life
Cedar
Douglas Fir
Hemlock
Spruce
Alder
Apple
Ash
Maple
Rhododendron
Rose
Berries
Ferns
Moss or Lichens
Driving Directions:
Located in the city of Federal Way, Wash., in the region of Puget Sound.
From I-5:
Take exit 142B (SR 299, Federal Way) 1.6 miles
south of Federal Way, and head west on S. 348th St. to Pacific Hwy.,
0.2 mile. Continue west on S. 348th for 0.8 mile, and watch for 4th
Ave., a hard-to-spot, single-lane road to the south just east of a power
substation. Turn south onto 4th, and in two blocks turn east at a sign
into a small gravel parking lot.
Comments:
Piter rates West Hylebos as: 5; Excellent
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Comment Submission
Courtesy of Washington
State Park and Recreation Commission
