Trip Date: August 5th, 2021
A weekday photography trip and short hike out at Nolte State Park with Emma was a great way to spend a mid-summer evening out in nature. The 111-acre day-use park is located a few miles north of Enumclaw, out in the farmland and on the border of the cascade foothills. Amenities at the park include a good number of picnic tables including a covered picnic shelter, a swimming beach, boat launch for paddlers and a nice bathroom facility. The park has running water available and would make for an excellent place for a casual family picnic or party with friends. The paved parking lot is good sized with probably 50+ parking stalls; this place gets busy on weekends with good weather.
The short 1.5 mile hike available in this park consists of an easy loop trail going around the main feature of the park, Deep Lake. The trail is wide, well maintained and covered with gravel, making for an easy trail to share with other people and dogs all year round. Glimpses of the lake are available as the trail makes its way around, with the views better on the west side of the lake. A number of side trails provide access down to the shoreline of the lake where people were fishing and swimming today, and enabled photo opportunities of the lake.
