Foster Floodplain Natural Area

Completed in 2012 after the city relocated families from the chronic floodplain, the area now softens local flood impacts while serving as an active habitat. The wide path is accessible for strollers and wheelchairs, weaving through groves of cottonwoods, Douglas firs, and oaks along Johnson Creek. Keep an eye out for salmon or trout moving through the water, frogs near the edge, or herons, hawks, and bald eagles overhead, alongside visiting deer and coyotes. For a longer loop, the trail connects outward to Brookside Wetland and Beggars Tick Wildlife Refuge.