The Emerald Forest
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The Emerald Forest is a tranquil escape from the city but located just 10 minutes east of downtown Redmond.  Visiting this peaceful 5-acre private forest, you will feel like you have been transported to a beautiful forest meadow up in the Cascades, Olympics, or Ireland!  1,000' from the nearest house, and only a few homes within 1/3rd of a mile, it's hard to find a more tranquil setting in the suburbs.


Unlike the thousands of acres of typical Pacific Northwest forest surrounding The Emerald Forest, there is no underbrush under your feet.... just rolling bumps and mounds covered in soft moss.  Walk along one of the many forest trails and discover shades of green you didn't even know existed. 


We were very honored to have The Emerald Forest selected as the location for the filming of the opening credits for the TV series Treehouse Masters.  Our hidden little forest is featured in the first moments of every episode of the show since 2017 (see below).

Abbreviated History of The Emerald Forest!

 

We finally had the opportunity to purchase the 25-acre undeveloped parcel that is home to The Emerald Forest in late 2015.  Prior to that, the land was being held for decades by residential developers.  Much has happened since 2015!

I accidentally discovered the area a decade earlier while getting myself lost while exploring in the woods.  I had no idea where I was or that I was so close to our home.  But, the uniqueness of this little nob of forest stuck with me for years, mostly because it reminded me so much of the forest moon of Endor from The Return of The Jedi (nerd alert!).

 

After purchasing the property, we converted it to permanent green space meaning that no homes will ever be built on that portion of the property.


But, then reality kicked in: The place was a mess!  The pictures below show what the forest looked like in 2017.  With the help of some hard working college students, we spent an entire summer removing fallen trees and branches from all five acres.  We never cut any vegetation.  Once the dead wood was removed, it exposed the beautiful green moss-covered forest floor you see in the pictures above.

 

The bonfire pictures below are from the first clean-up fire we had in the forest.  That bonfire is in the exact same location as the current fire pit.

 

When we were filming the first treehouse episode in 2017, the show’s director was looking for beautiful forest backdrops to film.  I took him over to The Emerald Forest, he was blown away, and the rest is history!