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This interpretive trail is a combination of asphalt and boardwalk. It is wheelchair accessible. The area was designated a National Recreational Trail in 1980. It was improved in 1990 as part of the Koma Kulshan Hydroelectric Project.

Be prepared to encounter 600-year-old trees and learn through interpretive signs about life in the forest.

Distance: Half-mile

Destination: Loop trail

Difficulty: Easy

Elevation gain: None

Getting there: State Route 20 to milepost 82, 17 miles east of Sedro-Woolley. Turn north on the Baker Lake Road. Continue for 15 miles. The trailhead and parking area are on the right.

The Trek: This trek is excellent for both young and old.

After parking in the lot, make sure to check out the signs and the massive cross-section of a fallen, old-growth tree.

Get you bearings and head out.

Start out on boardwalk, signing the hiker register along the way. Just to the left of the register is a wooden patio with a pair of signs titled “Whose Woods These Are” and “Identifying An Old Growth Forest.” After soaking up the information, return to the main boardwalk and proceed right.

Reaching a “Y,” go right. To the left is the return route.

Pass massive trees, enormous sword ferns and dainty lady ferns as you make your away along the trail.

The path fluctuates between boardwalk and asphalt. Reach the first section of asphalt. The gray ribbon twists its way between vine maples and bracken fern.

Reaching an intersection, proceed left. The path ends at the area’s matriarch. The Douglas fir tree before you is about 680 years old and stands 15 stories tall. Two signs — titled “Witness To The Ages” and “Hub Of Activity” — document what the old arbor has lived through and how the area both above and below its canopy is teeming with life.

Returning to the main trail, proceed left. Now traipsing on raised boardwalk, walk above the thick understory. Pass another pair of signs explaining the rejuvenation process that is constantly taking place.

Back on pavement, walk past a pair of massive Douglas fir trees, one on each side of the trail.

Boardwalk soon leads across a pair of large, fallen trees. Paths onto the decaying trunks have been worn by the numerous boots of hikers who have left the boardwalk to venture out onto the trees.

Reaching the halfway point of the hike, take a moment to sit on any one of the numerous benches and reflect on the area that surrounds you. On this day, the canopy was open just enough to let sunshine filter in.

The boardwalk bends to the right before becoming pavement once again. A footbridge allows hikers to venture across a small ravine before cutting between the remains of another monstrous, fallen tree.

Continuing along the boardwalk, pass more big trees while learning about the role lightning plays in the forest.

After passing three more signs, return to the initial intersection. Proceed right and return to the rig.