Another beautiful day in Surrey, another chance to visit a new park. Today we decided to visit Hawthorne Park, in North Surrey. The area is currently undergoing a lot of development, with lovely single family homes going in. The area has a magnificent view towards the mountains, which 
were gleaming under the midday sun. Mt. Baker was clearly visible to the south.
We had a little problem finding an entrance to the park, as we approached it from the west. There were walking entrances, to be sure, but clearly not the main entrance. As we circled the park we found a small parking lot on the east side, across the street from a local school.
We entered the park and had 3 or 4 large gravel pathways to choose from. We headed south, along side a little brook. There were lots of deciduous trees, so the park seemed a little bare right now. Clearly, it will be 
marvelous in the summer months. As we strolled along we came across a large pond, covered in ducks! There was a long tree that had fallen into the pond. Sitting on the tree trunk, in the middle of the pond was a cat! Too funny!
We walked around the very large pond and discovered the main entrance. There was a large children’s play area, with a water park to one side. There was a mini climbing wall, swings, sit and spins – just lots of things for kids to do. There are a couple of covered picnic tables, and lots of open playing fields.
Nearby were some formal gardens. Pathways crisscross through beds of daffodils, heather, hyacinth, grape hyacinth and rhododendrons. There are lots of blooming cherry and apple trees, exploding with pale pink flowers. Very pretty walk.
We crossed a little bridge and Max got his fill of duck chasing again! There were lots of ducks on this pond, and Max actually got his feet wet in this pond! That’s a first! He does love to chase along the water’s edge; I’m not sure what he’d do if one of the ducks refused to leave!
We spent over an hour wandering the pathways that intersect this park. I’m not sure of the size of this park, but it is quite large. We mentioned several times that it will be a good place to jog, since most of the paths are quite flat, wide and well drained.
As we returned to the car, we explored the north side of the park, and found a grove of large redwood trees, and another large brook. It was another great afternoon in the Surrey Parks System! We’ll certainly be coming back to this park for further exploration on another day.
Today was a gorgeous day, so Pam and I took a drive down south near the Nico Wynd golf course and took Max to Dogwood Park. It’s a large off leash park, with lots of nice trails though some old growth trees. It’s easily the largest off leash park we’ve been to. The trails are really quite extensive, some even running alongside small bodies of water.
There is a man made lake, with a bridge that dogs can jump off into the water! Not that Max would ever do that! There were no ducks on the lake, so Max didn’t find anyone to chase, today.
