Location: West Seattle Address: 6292 High Point Dr. S.W. Acreage: approx. 0.5 Several little-known playgrounds in the High Point neighborhood in West Seattle recently caught my attention. Bataan Park is one of the most interesting because it has a playground for kids, as well as adult fitness equipment to encourage all ages to be active.… Continue reading Bataan Park
Category: trails
Island Crest Park & Deane’s Children Park
Location: Mercer Island Address: 5500 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island Acreage: approx. 40 This forested wonderland on Mercer Island kept the kids that accompanied me busy for hours. Island Crest Park/Deane’s Children Park are a fantastic duo of parks that offer kids opportunities to play and explore beyond the typical neighborhood play structure. But, with… Continue reading Island Crest Park & Deane’s Children Park
Shoreview & Boeing Creek Parks
Location: Shoreline Address: 700 N.W. Innis Arden Way, Shoreline Acreage: 88 Fantastic urban hiking is a short drive from Seattle or the Eastside to Shoreview and Boeing Creek Parks. These two Shoreline parks work as one with a network of hiking trails that allow for more than an hour of walking through quiet forest. Several… Continue reading Shoreview & Boeing Creek Parks
Thornton Creek Park #1/Licorice Fern Natural Area
Location: Northeast Seattle/Northgate Address: 13002 10th Ave. N.E. Acreage: 7.83 How’s that for a park name? I set out to find Thornton Creek Park #1 (curious name, since there appears to be no subsequent numbered parks), but I think I found what is now newly named the Licorice Fern Natural Area. At first glance from… Continue reading Thornton Creek Park #1/Licorice Fern Natural Area
Jackson Park Golf Course (walking trail)
Location: Northeast Seattle/Northgate Address: 1100 N.E. 135th St. Acreage: 160.6 I decided earlier in this project to skip the city’s four golf courses. Although they are technically Seattle parks, they aren’t really accessible to the public to explore without paying a fee. (And I don’t know anything about golf, so I make a poor judge… Continue reading Jackson Park Golf Course (walking trail)
Pipers Creek Natural Area
Location: Northwest Seattle/Broadview Address: 600 N.W. 117th St. Acreage: 9.34 It’s difficult to distinguish between Pipers Creek Natural Area and Carkeek Park. On a map of this area of Northwest Seattle, it looks like Pipers Creek are fingers on a hand, with the hand being Carkeek Park. At more than 200 acres, Carkeek dwarfs the… Continue reading Pipers Creek Natural Area
Sacajawea Playground
Located: North Seattle/Maple Leaf Address: 1726 N.E. 94th St. Acreage: 2.6 A few wooded trails and a large sloping lawn lead visitors down to Sacajawea Elementary School in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. Kids will want to climb on the stair-like cement structure at the top of the grassy bowl. The trails are hidden in the… Continue reading Sacajawea Playground
Hitt’s Hill Park
Location: South Seattle/Beacon Hill Address: 5234 37th Ave. S. Acreage: 3.15 Who is Hitt and how did he get a park on a hill? This wooded park tucked among homes between Columbia City and Beacon Hill was named after Thomas Hitt. Born in 1874 in England, Hitt loved fireworks and explosives and anything that made… Continue reading Hitt’s Hill Park