Gissberg Twin Lakes County Park

Location: Marysville, Snohomish County.

Length: About a mile loop.

Level of difficulty: Level dirt/gravel/grass trails (muddy on west side after rains).

Setting: Sure, this park is a bit noisy, being next to Interstate 5, but it's a better place to stretch your legs than the I-5 rest stop just to the north. Fed by a spring, the ponds were dug out for gravel fill when I-5 was constructed (an aerial view on the park Web site shows two tidy rectangles). A trail circumnavigates both lakes; the lakes are joined by a narrow channel near the west side, so the trail behind the restrooms deadends at the channel. However, this middle spur offers a lovely promenade to picnic tables among cedars and birches.

Highlights: On the southwest corner of the north lake, check out the lakeside trees being sculpted by some busy beavers. Stocked with bass and trout, this is a popular fishing spot; one fishing report notes rainbow and cutthroat trout, largemouth bass, yellow perch, channel catfish, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish and an occasional salmon.

The park was named after the late state Sen. William A. Gissberg, a fishing enthusiast who supported legislation protecting the environment. According to an interview, Gissberg's decision not to run for Congress was influenced by the fact that the muddy Potomac River was no place for steelhead fishing.

Facilities: Seasonal water and restrooms (portable toilet in winter), picnic tables and swimming areas.

Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect; no horses. Please do not feed the waterfowl.

Directions: From Interstate 5 north of Marysville, take Exit 206 (Smokey Point) and at the end of the exit ramp head west on Highway 531 (172nd Street Northeast). Turn left soon on 27th Avenue Northeast, and left again at the "T." The road curves to the right to parallel I-5, with the park entrance on the right.

For more information: www.co.snohomish.wa.us/parks/gissberg.htm or 425-388-6600.

Cathy McDonald is coauthor with Stephen Whitney of "Nature Walks In and Around Seattle," with photographs by James Hendrickson (The Mountaineers, second edition, 1997).