Fauntleroy Park

SELF-GUIDED NATURE WALK IN FAUNTLEROY PARK
This walk introduces the casual observer to many natural features of Fauntleroy Park. You won't need hiking boots, just comfortable shoes that you won't mind getting dirty. Points 1 through 10 are accessible for those accustomed to using a walker or wheelchair on unpaved terrain.

The walk begins and ends at the park entrance on S.W. Barton Street. If you move right along, you can complete it in about 30 minutes - but beware that Mother Nature may entice you to tarry! Come again with your field guide and binoculars to explore in detail. For a complete map of park trails, go to www.fauntleroy.net/fauntleroypark/trailsmap.htm.


1.	Residential Environment: (As you enter the park) Wherever you are in this park, the city is close by. Responsible stewardship by people living and visiting here helps preserve the wooded ravine and its creek as healthy habitat.
2.	Ravine Trees: (Straight ahead a few feet to the right of the main trail) From here, look for trees that like cool, moist soil: Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) with flat, scale-like needles, bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) with broad leaves and winged seeds, and red alder (Alnus rubra) with clusters of small cones. Nicknamed "widow-makers" because they tend to blow down without any sign of weakness, alders live only 50 to 80 years in the city.
3.	Nurse Log: (Return to the main trail, turn right, go a few feet, and look on your right) As a tree ages, its roots may decay, causing it to fall. Over time, it becomes a home for small animals and the mosses and other "nursing" plants you see on this uprooted stump. Look out for recently fallen trees as you continue your walk.
4.	Western Trillium: (Several yards ahead in the wide clearing, take one of the paths on the right and follow it a few feet) Look closely in the shade of other plants for the three-leafed Western trillium (Trillium ovatum). Its three-petaled white flower is among the first to appear in the spring. Admire in place, though; picking the flower will kill the plant. Ants drawn to the oil on trillium seeds help spread this native on the forest floor.
5.	Salmonberry: (Return to the main trail, turn right, and go several yards, looking on both sides of the trail) Expect to see a lot of salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) on your walk. It grows up to 15 feet tall and has red or pink flowers in spring. The berries that appear in early summer look like large raspberries or clusters of salmon eggs. Sample only, please, and leave the rest for the wildlife.
6.	Bridge: (Ahead a few yards) Here the creek's main channel flows past broad-leafed skunk cabbage (Lysichitum americanum) with its characteristic yellow flowers and large leaves. The sewer cover is evidence that local homeowners no longer rely on septic tanks.
7.	Wetland Plants: (Along the boardwalk to the left of the bridge) Trickles of water off the slope to your left nourish many wet-loving plants during much of the year. Notice especially the skunk cabbage and Pacific water parsley (Oenanthe sarmentosa) in and near low areas.
8.	Snag: (Platform at the end of the boardwalk) Notice the large snag ahead on the blocked trail, with many nests pecked into its soft wood. Such standing dead trees are essential habitat for birds. Look around the platform for the orange flowers and pairs of joined leaves characteristic of the Western trumpet honeysuckle vine (Lonicera ciliosa). In addition to helping you see a wetter part of the park, this platform discourages use of one of the many informal trails that increase erosion and carry dirty rainwater into the creek.
9.	Invaders: (Retrace your steps and cross the large bridge; go a few yards up the trail to a similar platform on your left) The view from here changes with the seasons but not the damage done to the trees by invading vines. Adopt-a-Park stewards are removing English ivy (Hedera helix), Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor), Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), English holly (Ilex aquifolium), and cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) throughout the park. These non-natives steal light and nutrients, plus their heavy vines weaken trees, causing them to break or blow down easily.
10.	Ferns: (Return to the main trail and backtrack a few feet to the small trail on your left; go under the fallen tree) Erosion-fighting sword fern (Polysticham munitum) and the fragile lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) thrive on both sides of the trail, growing from a central clump. Notice the "artist's conks" on the fallen tree; this flower of a fungus invades sick or dead trees, speeding their decomposition.
11.	Pond: (Ahead along the boardwalk) A change in flow to block informal trails caused water from a small tributary to pool here, creating an inviting pond habitat. Insects and some types of amphibians may breed in the water. See who's home today!
12.	Rest Area: (Several yards ahead in clearing) Sit on a log and notice the trees, including Douglas fir (Pseudotsaga menziesii) with its soft needles and reddish cones and Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) with its flat sprays of needles and small round cones. In late summer and fall, look for the bright colors of vine maple (Acer circinatum).
13.	Trail Erosion: (Proceed down the slope but, instead of going up the steep steps; take the trail to your right immediately after crossing the bridge) Erosion exposes tree roots and washes away trails to the point that shoring such as you see here is required for pedestrian safety and to prevent soil from washing into the creek.
14.	Rotting Fallen Tree: (Ahead several yards to your right) Prickly leafed Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa) loves the nourishment of rotting wood. Its clusters of yellow flowers produce purple berries attractive to wildlife.
15.	Viewpoint: (A few yards ahead, step to your right between the big trees) From this bluff, enjoy the view across the creek, especially the tall canopy plants and the shrubs that make up the park's mid-story. The groundcover at your feet includes salal; look for the shiny evergreen leaves that showcase white/pink bell flowers in spring and purple berries in fall.
16.	Red Huckleberry: (Continue on the winding trail many yards to a fence, turn right, and stop) In late summer, the red fruit of this shrub (Vaccinium parvifolium) is a welcome sight for wildlife; the bushes in this shady part of the park are especially lush. Coast Salish fishers used the berries to lure freshwater fish.
17.	Twin Trees: (Follow the fence down a slope to where the trail widens; look on your right) Douglas fir and Western red cedar "Siamese twins" invite you to compare their barks. Fir bark has deep ruts and cedar bark is flaky. Native people had many uses for the red cedar, from dugout canoes made of cut trees to clothing woven from strips of bark peeled from living trees. In Coast Salish myth, the Great Spirit created red cedar to honor a man who was always helping others.
18.	Water Pipe: (Ahead a few yards down the slope) This metal pipe is a reminder of the days when a dam in the creek created a supply of water for livestock in the area.
19.	Bridge and Tributary: (Continue carefully down the slope as the trail veers to the left, then use the switchback trail to your right. Turn left to the bridge) Data collected over several years identified this tributary as the biggest contributor of nitrate to the creek, probably as a result of natural plant decomposition. The creek carries this nutrient into Fauntleroy Cove, where it feeds the gas-producing seaweed visible on and near the beach in late summer.
20.	Fenton Glen: (Respect the privacy of the church sanctuary as you pass behind; turn right off the parking lot into the glen) Sit awhile amongst variations on the Pacific rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum). Recent plantings of native shrubs and trees to cool the water for aquatic life are diversifying this ornamental garden. From here, one channel carries Fauntleroy Creek to Puget Sound.
	To complete the circle, go to the church's upper parking lot and turn right into the alley/trail; it will take you back to the park entrance.
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