Otto Preserve
Visit the Otto Preserve
3560 Sunrise Road
The trailhead, just east of the parking lot, is the gateway to a lovely walk through mature forest where sheltering trees protect trails in light rains. The main Loop Trail (.84 mile) can be combined with the Baumgart Woods, Betty's Shortcut, and Walden Walk for an easy 1.4 mile walk. Dogs must be on leash.
Resource Center
Monday-Thursday 9 am to 5 pm (usually)
We are closed Friday, Saturday & Sunday
The Resource Center at the Otto Preserve has information about wildlife, plants, and island history, as well as information about our nature preserves and land conservation on Lummi Island. Maps and educational materials are available. Visitors are welcome during business hours.
Please help us care for these special places by respecting our rules.
Preserves are open only during daylight hours.
Please stay on the trails.
Only foot traffic is permitted. Bicycles and motorized vehicles are not allowed.
Foraging is not permitted. Please do not pick, remove, or disturb plants.
Please leave nothing behind, including trash.
Do not feed wildlife.
Please help us be good neighbors. Respect private property and do not trespass.
Please pick up after your dog and always keep them leashed.
Fires, smoking, and alcohol are strictly prohibited.
No hunting is permitted. Firearms or other weapons are not allowed.
Camping is not allowed.
Drones are not allowed.
Trail map
History of the Otto Preserve
Carl and Ilse Otto came to Lummi Island in the 1950s. Carl was an inventor who had a variety of interests. He raised German shepherd dogs and Scottish Highlander cattle, and he worked the land. He also milled the timber he used to build the barns on the property, as well as the building that is now the Heritage Trust’s Resource Center. Ilse was a talented artist and a gold and silversmith.
After Ilse died, Carl contracted Lou Gehrig's disease and was cared for by islander Phyllis Lockwood. When Carl passed away, Phyllis inherited the Otto farm and stewarded the property until it was purchased by the Heritage Trust in 2000. The Otto Preserve was the Heritage Trust’s first land protection project. The 70-acre property was slated to be sold and could have been developed into 23 home sites.
Hundreds of individuals, families, organizations, and businesses helped the Heritage Trust purchase the Otto farm and create the Otto Preserve. In addition, as part of the Otto campaign, five neighboring landowners placed conservation easements on their private properties to protect an additional 105 acres of the surrounding landscape.
In 2005 the Heritage Trust secured an option to purchase the 17-acre Baumgart property that bordered the Otto Preserve to the north. At the same time, a generous landowner donated an additional seven acres of heavily forested land along the southeastern boundary of the Preserve. The preserve was expanded to 94 acres.
In 2012 the Heritage Trust was successful in purchasing and protecting an additional 10 acres of prime wetland and forest habitat adjacent to the Otto Preserve. This acquisition protected the entire northern edge of one of the largest wetland complexes on Lummi Island, and expanded the Otto Preserve to its current 104 acres. The Otto Preserve protects open space, native forest, rich wetlands, and critical plant and wildlife habitat, while providing low impact public access.
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