Carnation sits in the Snoqualmie Valley, about 30 miles east of Seattle, where the valley floor spreads wide between the Cascade foothills and the river bottomlands that define this corner of King County. It's farm country more than golf country — a landscape of open pasture, wetland corridors, and the kind of low morning fog that lingers well into a summer round. The Blue Heron name fits: the valley's sloughs and river bends are genuine great blue heron habitat, and you're likely to see one on any given day.
A par-71 layout in a setting like this typically rewards accuracy over power, with the softer, wetter ground of the Pacific Northwest keeping the ball from running out and adding a premium on clean ballstriking through the cooler months. Fall and winter rounds here mean mud, patience, and layers.
For golfers based in the greater Seattle area, Carnation offers a genuine departure from the urban fringe — a valley-floor round with agricultural surroundings and the quiet that comes from being one exit past where most people turn off.
