The Cold Creek Natural Area covers about 250 acres and is located near Woodinville and Redmond, in the upper reaches of Cottage Lake Creek, a tributary to Big Bear Creek and the Sammamish River. This area contains extensive wetland systems, numerous springs, and one of the highest quality salmon-bearing streams in the Big Bear Creek drainage basin. Bear Creek supports chinook, sockeye, coho, kokanee, steelhead, and cutthroat, as well as the largest freshwater mussel population known in King County.

Significant resources at the Cold Creek Natural Area include:

• A large portion of the Big Bear Creek #10 wetland, a King County Class 1 wetland rating for size, diversity of vegetation, and open water component.
• Wetlands, streams, and biotic communities within the upper reaches of the Cottage Lake Creek and Bear Creek basin, which play a critical role in the health and vitality of the downstream system.
• Cold Creek, a King County Class 2 stream which provides essential cool waters to the Cottage Lake Creek and Bear Creek system, especially in the critical summer and fall months.
• Cottage Lake Creek/Daniels Creek, a King County Class 2 stream that supports significant populations of chinook, sockeye, coho, kokanee, steelhead, and cutthroat.
• High quality, diverse habitat for a variety of resident and migratory bird species as well as habitat for numerous terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, including river otter, beaver, coyote, black bear, and native amphibian species.
• A peat deposit of state significance.

The Cold Creek Natural Area Site Management Plan is available in Adobe Acrobat format. For help using Acrobat files, please visit our Acrobat help page. The document is available in parts to reduce download time and minimize computer problems during and after download.

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Cold Creek Natural Area Site Management Plan - (356 Kb, not including figures below)

• Figure 1 - Site Location in the Cedar River / Lake Washington Watershed - (436 Kb)
• Figure 2 - Site Location and extent in Big Bear Creek Basin - (331 Kb)
• Figure 3 - Existing Conditions - (1,260 Kb)
• Figure 4 - Natural Resources - (1,490 Kb)
• Figure 5 - Site Management - (711 Kb)
• Figure 6 - Mary Cash Farm, Cold Creek Area Proposed Restoration and Access - (1,270 Kb)
• Figure 7 - Bassett Pond Area - (583 Kb)