BEDH_Seattle-6

Introduction

The Lay of the Land—and Water

When you fly into Seattle on a clear day, it appears that there’s more water than land. It is a city on and of the water. Puget Sound makes up Seattle’s entire western border, and the vast Lake Washington, the eastern. A ship canal slices the city in half as it passes through yet another lake, Lake Union, and connects the two larger bodies of water. The Duwamish River snakes through the city’s south end and empties into Elliott Bay—Seattle’s busy commercial port.

With Seattle waterlocked on two sides and landlocked on its narrower north and south ends, the only way for the city to grow is up. Neighboring municipalities sprawl north, south, and across Lake Washington, which is spanned by two floating bridges. With all that water, one of Seattle’s greatest attributes is its miles of waterfront property, shoreline public space, and dramatic water views.

East across Lake Washington sits another lake nearly as long, Lake Sammamish, with the neighboring cities of Redmond, Bellevue, and Issaquah lining its shores. Beyond that, continuing east and up, the Cascade foothills rise with plenty of land set aside for public use.

What does this landscape do for recreational opportunities in and around the city? If you guessed boating, sailing, swimming, scuba diving, bicycling, jogging, and even parasailing, you’d be correct. But let’s not forget about hiking. Seattleites love to hit the trail and take out-of-towners along on the walk. Networks of trails in and around the city offer a variety of settings and terrains, from urban waterfront hikes with stunning views of Seattle’s skyline to quiet treks through old-growth forest. The King County Regional Trail System is one of the nation’s largest with 175 miles (and growing) of public multiuse trails, so there’s a hike in the Seattle area to suit every hiking ability.

This guidebook has attempted to select the best easy day hikes in and around Seattle, all within an hour’s drive from downtown and none requiring a ferry ride across Puget Sound.

Seattle-Area Boundaries and Corridors

For the purposes of this guide, the best easy day hikes are located throughout the city and stretch into King County; all are confined to a one-hour drive from downtown Seattle.

Interstate 5 is the main north-south artery through Seattle. From I-5, Interstate 90 and Highway 520 both head east via floating bridges across Lake Washington. The only routes west from Seattle are via ferry service across Puget Sound. None of the hikes in this book are located west of Seattle, and none require ferry transportation from the city. Directions to trailheads are given from either downtown Seattle or one of these three main arteries.

Weather

Seattle enjoys a temperate, generally cool climate with four distinct seasons, few extremes, and an average of fifty-eight days bathed in full sun. The city receives only about 36 inches of annual rainfall over an average 155 days a year. So how did it earn a reputation as one of the wettest U.S. cities when, in fact, it doesn’t even rank among the top ten?

Seattle is tucked between the Olympic and Cascade Ranges where clouds gather from the Pacific and can loom for long stretches. When it rains, the city tends to get misted with protracted periods of drizzle. The rainiest seasons are late fall and winter, when torrential Pacific storms occasionally blow through.

There’s an old quip about Northwesterners having webbed feet. The truth is that they don’t often let a cloudy day or a little drizzle slow them down. Cloudy, wet days in the Pacific Northwest possess their own beauty. The forests glisten and come alive. Fog and mist shroud the hilltops and define contours otherwise not seen. The air is fresh, with grit and dust washed away. With the right gear, you can still enjoy the local trails, whatever the weather.

Part of being prepared for your hike is checking the weather forecast. If weather conditions are potentially hazardous, which is rare, postpone your hike. If weather conditions are favorable to a safe experience on the trail, enjoy yourself, rain or shine.

Wildlife

Wildlife shares the spotlight with Pacific Northwest scenery on trails in and around Seattle. Bald eagles soar over wooded parks and perch in treetops above beaches. Great blue herons strike motionless hunting poses in shoreline shallows. Pileated woodpeckers hammer away at the trunks of decaying trees. Cormorants occupy pilings, their wings spread wide to air-dry after their last dive for a meal.

Birdlife is so abundant in Seattle that bird enthusiast groups conduct annual bird counts in several of Seattle’s city parks. Trails in some of these parks are included in this guidebook.

You might spot deer, raccoons, coyotes, and even red foxes near wooded trails. Lucky hikers near Puget Sound have been known to spot seals and sea lions and, on rare occasions, orcas.

Of course it’s possible to take a hike in and around Seattle without seeing anything more than a few seagulls. Wildlife doesn’t usually stage an entrance just to be noticed by humans. Be on the lookout for the wild inhabitants near the trail and you might be surprised at what critters are watching you.

Encounters with large wildlife are extremely rare but not unheard of, and some trailheads post information about what to do if you encounter a bear or cougar. An excellent source of information regarding such encounters is “Living with Wildlife,” available on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Web site at www.wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/.

Be Prepared

Hiking in Seattle and the surrounding area is generally safe. Still, you should be prepared, whether you are out for a short urban stroll along Seattle’s waterfront or venturing into the more secluded Cascade foothills. The following tips will help you get ready for your hike:

Research trail conditions in advance by checking the appropriate land management agency’s Web site or calling their office.
Check the weather forecast. If it predicts potentially hazardous weather, postpone your hike.
Hazards along some trails include uneven footing, steep drop-offs, and slippery trail surfaces, such as mud, ice, and wet boardwalks. Trekking poles and proper footwear with good tread can help you maintain your balance in more challenging areas.
Carry a large enough backpack for the essentials and any extras you might want, such as guidebooks, cameras, and binoculars. The essentials are map, compass, water and water filtration method, food, rain gear and extra clothing, matches and fire starter, first-aid kit, army knife or multipurpose tool, flashlight and extra bulbs, and sunscreen and sunglasses. These essentials are especially important on nonurban hikes.
Know the basics of first aid, including how to treat bleeding, bites, stings, fractures, strains, sprains, and contact with poison oak and stinging nettles. Pack a first-aid kit, no matter how short your excursion.
While heat stroke and heat exhaustion are unlikely in Seattle’s climate, hiking on hot summer days brings risks. Heat exhaustion symptoms include heavy sweating, muscle cramps, headache, dizziness, and fainting. Should you or your companions exhibit any of these symptoms, cool the victim down immediately by rehydrating and getting him or her to an air-conditioned location. Cold showers also help reduce body temperature. Heat stroke is much more serious: The victim may lose consciousness, and the skin is hot and dry to the touch. In this event, call 911 immediately.
Prepare for extremes of both heat and cold by dressing in layers.
Regardless of the weather, your body needs water while hiking. A full thirty-two-ounce bottle is the recommended minimum for these short hikes, but more is always better. Bring a full water bottle, whether water is available along the trail or not.
Don’t drink from streams, rivers, creeks, or lakes without first treating or filtering the water. Water from such sources may host a variety of contaminants, including giardia, which can cause serious intestinal unrest.
Most area trails have cell phone coverage. Bring your device, but make sure you turn it off or put it on the vibrate setting if you are hiking in a place where a cell phone ring might disturb wildlife or fellow hikers.
Make sure children don’t stray from the designated route. Children should carry a whistle; if they become lost, they should stay in one place and blow the whistle to summon help.
Many of the waterfront hikes in this book are not safe for swimming. Swim at designated swimming beaches only, with a companion and preferably a lifeguard present.

Zero Impact

Trails in the Seattle area are heavily used year-round. We, as trail users and advocates, must be especially vigilant to make sure our passage leaves no lasting mark. Here are some basic guidelines for preserving trails:

Pack out all your own trash, including biodegradable items like orange peels, or deposit it in a designated trash container. You might also pack out garbage left by less considerate hikers.
Don’t approach or feed wildlife—the squirrel eyeing your energy bar is best able to survive if it remains self-reliant.
Don’t pick wildflowers or gather rocks or other treasures along the trail. Removing these items will only take away from the next hiker’s experience.
Stay on the established route to avoid damaging trailside soils and plants. This is also a good rule of thumb for avoiding poison oak and stinging nettle, common regional trailside irritants.
Don’t create shortcuts, which can promote erosion and damage native vegetation.
Be courteous by not making loud noises while hiking.
Many of these trails are multiuse, which means you’ll share them with other hikers, runners, skaters, bicyclists, and equestrians. Familiarize yourself with the proper trail etiquette. As a pedestrian, you generally have the right-of-way, but you should yield when common sense dictates.
Use restrooms and outhouses at trailheads or along the trail.

Land Management

The following organizations manage most of the public lands described in this guide and can provide further information on these and other trails in their service areas:

Seattle Parks and Recreation, 100 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle 98109; (206) 684-4075, TTY (206) 233-1509; www.seattle.gov/parks/. A complete listing of city parks, information about park facilities, and maps for most parks are available on the Web site.
Port of Seattle, P.O. Box 1209, Seattle 98111; (206) 728-3000; www.portseattle.org.
King County Parks, 201 South Jackson Street, Suite 700, Seattle 98104; (206) 296-8687; www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks.aspx. A complete listing of county parks and information about park facilities and trails are available on the Web site.
Washington Park Arboretum, University of Washington, P.O. Box 358010, Seattle 98195-8010; (206) 543-8800; www.depts.washington.edu/wpa.
Washington State Parks, 1111 Israel Road SW, Tumwater 98504-2650; (360) 902-8844; www.parks.wa.gov.
State of Washington Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 47000, Olympia 98504-7000; (360) 902-1000; www.dnr.wa.gov.
USDA Forest Service, Mt. Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest, 222 Yale Avenue North, 98109-5429; Outdoor Recreation Information: (206) 470-4060; www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs. Trail information and maps are available on the Web site.