How do you like to pumpkin? You’re in the right place to celebrate all things fall. In Everett and its farmland environs, you can stroll among gourds on vines, sip them in coffee beverages or even shoot them out of cannons.
Here’s an itinerary for the perfect autumn day in, and near, mill town.
Sipping
If you like to “drink” pumpkins, we recommend the “Lil’ Punkin” at Narrative Coffee (2927 Wetmore Avenue) in downtown Everett. It’s like a pumpkin spice latte, but fancier with its hand-shaved cardamom, handcrafted pumpkin syrup, and locally-farmed milk.
If you prefer a nice fall-flavored alcoholic cider instead, see what’s available at The Independent Beer Bar in Everett (1801 Hewitt Avenue). Every autumn they bring in the best of seasonal ciders — both in bottle and on tap.
The Pumpkin Patch
For more pumpkin-related fun, zip across the Hewitt Avenue trestle to Carleton Farm (630 Sunnyside Blvd SE, Lake Stevens). The parking is ample and photo ops will happen here without you even trying.
Carleton grows 20 varieties of gourds. You can shoot pumpkins out of pneumatic cannons (surprisingly fun), stroll through rustling corn mazes, cruise down a zipline, and visit a petting zoo.
Or, if that seems like too much holiday camp, you simply buy fresh corn and honey from the barn/farm stand.
Leaf strolling
So it’s a sunny day in the Pacific Northwest (okay... it’s only moderately raining). Don’t waste your fair weather autumnal interval on coniferous trees. You want to see brilliant leaves. Moreover, you want to smell them and crunch them underneath your feet: a true sensory pleasure.
Your best bet for leaves is to stroll down Colby Avenue, north of Downtown Everett. Parking is easy enough to find on Colby in the city core. The northbound sidewalks are lined with deciduous trees in riotous colors of burnt carmine, sulphurous ochre, and electric orange. Colby runs approximately a mile north through the residential districts of Bayside and Northwest neighborhoods.
At the end of Colby you’ll skirt Alverson Boulevard still heading north and end up at Legion Memorial Park(145 Alverson Blvd). The park is built on a bluff and provides what many consider to be the best lookout in the city: views of Gedney, Camano, and Whidbey Islands as well as the Snohomish River, Port Gardener and Priest Point to the north. You’ll want to linger a few moments before circling back on your route and returning to the city.
No matter how you choose to celebrate the season, back-to-the-land activities like these are a great reminder of what a beautiful place we live in. It’s a great place to call home.
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