Join us in the forestlands!
Our family hikes designed for families with young children are typically offered on the third Saturday of each month, 10am - noon.
Our gentle senior hikes are offered on the third Thursday of each month, 10am - 12pm
Our community hikes are typically scheduled on Saturdays or evenings outside of traditional working hours.
Quarterly hikes with the Anacortes Public Library are the first Saturday of January, April, July, and October. Guided hike plans are also available for self-led exploration—pick one up at the library or the Forest Discovery Center and enjoy the hike at your own pace.
New! Art in Nature at the Forest Discovery Center 10am - 1pm on the last Saturday of the month.
New! Friends to the Forest programs at the Forest Discovery Center on the second Thursday of each month.
May Senior Stroll
This month, we’ll look for spring wildflowers in the Little Cranberry Lake burn zone!
Art in Nature
Drop in to the Forest Discovery Center to make hammered flower art with us!
Sugarloaf Wildflowers
Celebrate the return of spring with a bracing hike through Sugarloaf’s flowering meadows! Join Friends of the Forest as we explore the many spring flowers that call the ACFL home (and the view will be nice, too.)
June Family Hike: Pollinators and Their Flowers
Join Friends of the ACFL for our June family hike as we search for spring flowers and the very special creatures that pollinate them. During this celebration of teamwork in the forest, we’ll learn about why flowers and pollinators depend on each other, and how this relationship has shaped individual species and the forest as a whole.
Community Hike: Forest Mindfulness
Join Friends of the ACFL and certified mindfulness teacher Karissa Sellman, as we take a gentle, meditative approach to being with nature.
Join Friends of the ACFL and certified mindfulness teacher Karissa Sellman, as we take a gentle, meditative approach to being with nature. We will practice engaging all of our senses, cultivating a relaxed, embodied awareness while connecting deeply with the forest around Heart Lake. Please bring a bottle of water, juice, or tea for some mindful sipping and consider leaving your phone at home.
Note: We will spend some time walking very slowly, which can challenge one’s usual sense of balance. You may wish to bring a walking stick or hiking pole for added support.
Meet your guest instructor!:
Karissa Sellman, CMT-P, has practiced Zen meditation for more than 20 years and is deeply curious about mind-body-spirit connections. Since completing training at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center in 2017, she has led private workshops, facilitated public drop-in groups, and offered meditation mentoring sessions to individuals. She lives near Little Cranberry Lake and loves hearing the neighborhood eagles and owls.
June Senior Stroll
Join Friends of the ACFL on our monthly senior hike!
This month, we’ll explore the mysteries of the old-growth forest at the south end of Heart Lake! Wander through towering stands of Douglas-fir and western redcedar, and appreciate the work of the community that protected them.
We keep the pace of these hikes slow as the group’s curiosity guides our learning. Feel free to bring your own field guides, binoculars/magnifiers, and whatever gear you’ll need for walking on trails. Hikes range in length from 1 - 2 miles, typically over gentle terrain.
Homeschool Days in the ACFL
Bring your homeschooler to the ACFL to explore the forest by using their senses, making observations and practicing other science skills!
Homeschool Days in the ACFL
Bring your homeschooler to the ACFL to explore the forest by using their senses, making observations and practicing other science skills!
May Family Hike: Flights of Feathered Friends
Join Friends of the ACFL for our May family hike to celebrate our birds and the migrations they make to join us each springtime. During this bird bonanza, we’ll look and listen for some of our common forest birds, learn about why and how birds move during the year, and step into the shoes (or rather wings) of our feathered friends to play our own migration game.
Anacortes Earth Day
Join us in the Forest Discovery Center during The Anacortes Earth Day Festival and make a pollinator puddler with us!
April Family Hike: Earth Day Exploration
Join Friends of the ACFL for our April family hike to celebrate Earth Day while exploring and learning about how to take care of our forest.
Community Hike: Early Spring Wildflowers
Celebrate the return of spring with a bracing hike around Little Cranberry Lake!
April Senior Stroll
This month, we’ll explore the wet and low lying places around Big Beaver Pond!
ACFL Naturalist Club
Join us for a five-week immersive learning series about the Anacortes Community Forest Lands!
2026 Dates: Wednesday evenings & Saturday mornings | April 8 - May 9th, 2026
Connect with fellow life-long learners, and complete projects that will deepen your connection to and curiosity about the natural world.
Priority registration opens for members January 15th, 2026.
General registration opens February 15th.
Interested? Click here for more information, and to register!
Trails Less Traveled: Four Forest Ferns
Each quarter, we are teaming up with the Anacortes Public Library to celebrate the less-traveled trails of the ACFL.
Family Hike: Amphibians!
Join Friends of the ACFL for our March family hike to explore how the forest is waking up with signs of spring.
March Senior Stroll
This month, we’ll explore the scenic trails on the north side of Heart Lake! Join us to look for early signs of spring amongst cathedrals of old cedar.
Community Hike: Animals of the Evening
Join Friends of the ACFL on a quiet stroll to appreciate the evening wildlife around our beaver wetlands.
Friends of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands Annual Meeting
Join us for an evening of education and updates with Friends of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands! Hear from our staff about everything we did in 2025 and a peek into 2026. Have questions answered by Assistant Parks Director & ACFL Manager, Bob Vaux. And listen to an insightful presentation by our guest speaker Robbie Andrus.
Robbie Andrus spent his childhood building forts and climbing trees in the forests on the Olympic Peninsula. After finishing graduate school in 2019, he began working as a forest ecologist with the School of the Environment at WSU. His research examines the impacts of climate and climate change on forest demographic processes, such as the links between warm, dry summers and dieback of western redcedar. In partnership with Transition Fidalgo, he recently helped create an online dashboard to showcase changes in forest health over time in the ACFL .
Click here to view the dashboard (Works best on a desktop)
Members and non-members alike are invited to join us for this informative event!
Refreshments will be provided. No RSVP needed!
Trail Stewardship Work Party
Grab your gloves and meet us at the Little Cranberry Lake parking lot! We’ll be spending the morning improving the trail surface near the lakeshore observation platform. Expect wheelbarrows, shovels, plenty of crushed rock, an a few other key trail tools to help get the job done.
Family Hike: Animals!
Join Friends of the ACFL for our February family hike where we’ll learn all about slimy, furry and scaly critters that live in our forest. Throughout our hike we’ll look for different kinds of animal clues, explore animal tracks and practice moving like some of our fabulous forest friends.
Procession of the Species Workshop: Make a Frog Costume!
Interested in making a costume for the Parade of the Species at Anacortes Earth Day?
Join artist and instructor Shannon Pickens from the Procession of the Species in the Forest Discovery Center to make an upcycled Frog costume. We will have supplies and instructions to create a headdress/mask to take home.
Procession of the Species (POTS) is part of the Earth Day Celebration. We create costumes, art pieces, music, and dance to share with the community at the Day Parade, Saturday, April 25, 2026.
The workshop is fun for kids and adults alike! Email Shannon Pickens at pickenshannon@gmail.com to RSVP or with questions!
Community Hike: Lichen Walk
Freddy Fungus and Alice Algae took a lichen’ to each other, and maybe you know the rest?
Trees, Sea, and Marbled Murrelets with the Salish Sea School!
Join Friends of the ACFL and The Salish Sea School for a morning of trees and sea as we explore the connection of old growth forests and the Salish Sea through the eyes of the endangered Marbled Murrelet.
Family Hike: Mosses, Lichens and Algae, Oh My!
Witches butter, ink caps, puffballs and more! Join Friends of the ACFL for a mushroom scavenger hunt!
Homeschool Days in the ACFL (1/14)
Bring your homeschooler to the ACFL to explore the forest by using their senses, making observations and practicing other science skills!
Procession of the Species Workshop: Make a Frog or Tree Costume!
Interested in making a costume for the Parade of the Species at Anacortes Earth Day?
Join artist and instructor Shannon Pickens from the Procession of the Species in the Forest Discovery Center to make a Frog costume or a Tree costume. We will have supplies and instructions to create a headdress/ mask to take home.
Procession of the Species (POTS) is part of the Earth Day Celebration. We create costumes, art pieces, music, and dance to share with the community at the Day Parade, Saturday, April 25, 2026.
The workshop is fun for kids and adults alike! Email Shannon Pickens at pickenshannon@gmail.com to RSVP or with questions!
Homeschool Days in the ACFL (1/13)
Bring your homeschooler to the ACFL to explore the forest by using their senses, making observations and practicing other science skills!
Trails Less Travelled: Whistle Wetlands
Each quarter, we are teaming up with the Anacortes Public Library to celebrate the less-traveled trails of the ACFL. New and seasoned hikers welcome!
December Senior Stroll
This month, we’ll explore the mysteries of the old growth forest at the south end of Heart Lake! Wander through towering stands of Douglas-fir and western redcedar, and close out the year in celebration of our community forests.
We keep the pace of these hikes slow as the group’s curiosity guides our learning. Feel free to bring your own field guides, binoculars/magnifiers, and whatever gear you’ll need for walking on trails. Hikes range in length from 1 - 2 miles, typically over gentle terrain.
Family Hike: Mushrooms!
Witches butter, ink caps, puffballs and more! Join Friends of the ACFL for a mushroom scavenger hunt!
Open Hours during the Walk With Santa Holiday Parade
Join us in the Forest Discovery Center! Our exhibits will be open, we will have tabletop activities, and lots of gifts in the gift shop!
As always, admission is free!
Learn more about Anacortes Lions “Walk with Santa” Holiday Parade
Open Hours during Anacortes Tree Lighting
Join us in the Forest Discovery Center! Our exhibits will be open, we will have tabletop activities, and lots of gifts in the gift shop!
As always, admission is free!
Stewardship Hike: Happy Holly-Days
Celebrate the holly-day season with an oh-so-satisfying stewardship hike with Friends of the ACFL!