Out and About: A ‘Best Kept Secret’ no more

Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, August 16, 2006

“Eighty acres of undeveloped prime lowland forest and no-bank waterfront property on Puget Sound, just west of the artists’ enclave of Indianola. Home to osprey, great blue heron and deer. Watch the sun rise over the Seattle skyline. Price: Free.”

Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? If it was a real estate ad it would indeed be a dream deal. But it’s not an ad, it’s a description of the Indianola Waterfront and Woodland Preserve, 80.68 acres of public land, open to all who take the time to seek it out.

The land was purchased by Kitsap County from the Bloedel Family Trust in 1997, for $1.2 million. The Indianola Land Trust rallied the citizens of Indianola to raise $567,000 in grants, foundation and individual contributions in order to secure conservation easements from the country, thus ensuring that the land would be used as a public space “in perpetuity.”

The Indianola Land Trust later merged with the Great Peninsula Conservancy, which now manages the land.

Kate Kuhlman, director of development and outreach for the Conservancy, credited the “great help of the community” for making the dream of preserving the land a reality.

“There are very few unplatted large pieces (of land) in Indianola,” she said. When the county was “gifted” with 22 acres of watershed adjoining the property, Kuhlman said the community thought it was important to protect the property below it as well.

The result is a stretch of timbered property that crosses Indianola Road just north of Gerald Cliff Drive NE and continues down to Miller Bay, bisected at the lower end by NE Seaview Avenue. The woodland portion consists of a mature second-growth conifer and mixed broadleaf forest, mainly cedars, Douglas firs, alders and maples, while the waterfront preserve contains a a tidal estuary, beach and tidelands. There are trails in the woodland preserve, but they are maintained by volunteers who don’t always have time to keep up with fallen trees and invasive weeds such as blackberry brambles.

On a recent visit the upland trails were very well brushed and cleared, leaving just enough blackberries within reach for nibbling along the way. The waterfront preserve trail was a little rougher, with a recently fallen wild cherry tree, a wooden boardwalk cobbled together out of salvaged planks from the beach and a precarious footbridge made from a beam covered with fencing wire.

Still, it’s only several hundred yards till the trail comes out at the beach, which usually has very few visitors. Outside of Indianola residents it is practically unknown. There are no signs along Indianola Road pointing it out, and no marked trailheads or parking lots. Once on the beach there are signs marking it as the Indianola Waterfront Preserve, and listing prohibitions, including no fires or alcohol.

Kuhlman said the preserve is important because the estuarine wetlands affect the salmon habitat in Miller Bay and the shoreline is habitat for shorebirds.

“The biggest attribute is the open space in a fast developing part of the county,” she said.

The Conservancy is working to secure the funding to improve the estuary portion of the preserve, including possibly removing the “spoils” deposited from the dredging of Miller Bay, which would restore the natural water flow in the estuary and enhance potential fish habitat.

Kuhlman said the Conservancy will conduct an ivy removal project at the preserve in the fall and would love to have help. Anyone interested in volunteering for that project, or to help clear and maintain trails can contact Kuhlman at the Conservancy at (360) 373-3500 or email kate@greatpeninsula.org.

To reach the Indianola Waterfront and Woodland Preserves from Poulsbo, take Bond Road NE to Gunderson Road, follow to its end at Miller Bay Road. Turn left onto Miller Bay Road, go .2 miles to Indianola Road, which is the first county road on the right. Drive approximately two miles down Indianola Road to Gerald Cliff Drive NE and turn right. At the bottom of the hill turn right on NE Seaview Avenue and park in the wide spot on the left side of the road. The trail to the beach takes off from here, while the uplands trail is across the road, about half a block farther up.

It’s your beach — enjoy it.