Jennings park complex is Marysville's eclectic getaway in middle of city

MARYSVILLE — Where else can you have a picnic, ride a "dinosaur," learn about composting and pet a pig — all in the same place?

Jennings Memorial Park and Jennings Nature Park, linked by a pedestrian bridge, may be Snohomish County's most eclectic park complex. The 51-acre site's recreation areas offer something for nearly everyone.

The parks are built around Allen Creek, with most of the site forming a bowl of wetlands, floating bridges, pathways and other features that are mostly invisible from the entrance at 6900 Armar Road.

The park complex's original 31 acres, the site of a former farm, were donated to the city in 1961 by the Jennings family.

That acreage now forms the heart of the complex, with 20 more acres later donated by the Centex Corp. and developed in conjunction with the state Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, which resulted in the adjoining Jennings Nature Park, opened in 1993.

Now the 51 acres offer something far more than swing sets or playground equipment. Even the playground equipment is unusual, designed the shapes of dinosaurs.

For Lori Pietzsch, who recently brought her day-care class of eight kids to the park, the acreage filled nearly an entire day.

"I do the petting zoo next," she said, watching her charges as they tried the toys at one of the park's three playgrounds. "Then we do a hike."

The Rotary Ranch Petting Zoo draws more than 40,000 visitors every summer. The park is operated by the Marysville Future Farmers of America, the Marysville School District and the Marysville Noon Rotary.

Admission to the zoo is free, with summer hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

Just a few feet from the zoo is the Gehl Homestead, an 1894 house that was moved to the site.

Past that is the Washington State University Master Gardener Demonstration Garden, one of several run by WSU throughout the state. The garden has been picked by WSU to mark the 30th anniversary of the master-gardener program, with ceremonies planned for 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The demonstration area includes displays of an English garden and a special area for hummingbirds and butterflies. A morning visit is almost guaranteed to provide a sighting of feeding hummingbirds, park-maintenance manager Mike Robinson said.

There are also about three miles of trails for walking and jogging, and acres of wetlands along Allen Creek are reachable by floating bridges.

The complex also has a fishing pond.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com