Snohomish County Celebrates Completion of Accessible Erinswood Trail at Heybrook Ridge County Park
INDEX, Wash., September 30, 2026 – Snohomish County Parks & Recreation and the Friends of Heybrook Ridge (FOHR) invite the community to celebrate the completion of the Erinswood Trail at Heybrook Ridge County Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Oct. 9, at 2 p.m. The event will celebrate the latest chapter in an 18-year community effort to preserve the forest and expand access to this special place in the Skykomish Valley.
Completed in September, Phase 2 of the park's development includes the new half-mile, ADA-compliant Erinswood Trail, an accessible loop trail through the northeast corner of the park. The five-foot-wide trail features a compacted gravel surface and one-foot shoulders, providing visitors of all abilities an opportunity to experience the Pacific Northwest forest.
Eight benches along the trail provide places to rest and enjoy the surrounding forest, while nine interpretive signs share information about the site's history and natural environment. Trailhead improvements include two new accessible parking spaces, two additional general parking spaces for a total of 21 parking spots, and a new concrete pad and screening for a portable restroom.
Over the past six years, Snohomish County Parks and its partners have worked together to bring the Erinswood Trail to completion, with community input influencing details throughout the project. Even the pattern on the trailhead's restroom screening and colors of the benches were selected to reflect the surrounding forest. The trail is named in honor of Erin Sample, an Index resident who inspired the vision for an accessible hiking trail at Heybrook Ridge.
“The completion of Erinswood, a fully accessible, lush and peaceful forested trail at the base of Heybrook Ridge County Park, marks a major milestone in the more than 18 years of collaboration between the Friends of Heybrook Ridge, Snohomish County, Washington Trails Association, and our many supporters,” said Ann Darlington, Past President and current member of FOHR Board of Directors. “The second trail at Heybrook Ridge, Erinswood, first showed up in Snohomish County Parks’ Trail Management Plan in 2013 as ‘a possible accessible loop trail.’ I am joyfully grateful for our joint achievement of this dream.”
"The Erinswood Trail is a wonderful example of what can happen when a community comes together around a shared vision," said Snohomish County Parks Director Sharon Walker. "For nearly two decades we have worked together to protect this forest and make it accessible for more people. This new trail honors that commitment and creates another opportunity for people of all abilities to connect with the natural beauty of the Skykomish Valley."
The property was purchased in 2008 using $700,000 in Snohomish County Conservation Futures funding and $550,000 raised by FOHR after local residents organized to prevent the forest from being clear-cut. The park's first phase was completed in 2017 with the construction of the trailhead and 1.6-mile Leovy Trail, which was built with the help of 230 Washington Trails Association volunteers.
Ribbon Cutting
- What: Erinswood Trail Ribbon Cutting
- When: Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, at 2 p.m.
- Where: Heybrook Ridge County Park, 50606 Index-Galena Rd, Index, WA 98256
- Who: Snohomish County Parks, Friends of Heybrook Ridge, community partners and local residents
The community is invited to attend the ribbon cutting and celebrate the completion of the Erinswood Trail.
About Snohomish County Conservation and Natural Resources
The Snohomish County Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) includes the Division of Surface Water Management; the Division of Parks and Recreation; the Office of Energy and Sustainability and the Office of Agriculture. DCNR works in support of thriving communities; a clean and healthy environment to foster environmental stewardship; ensuring food security; supporting a green economy, and strengthening communities by providing regional parks and infrastructure; protecting the region's water, air, land and natural habitats; enhancing agriculture and recreation; and reducing flooding. https://snohomishcountywa.gov/5758.
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