Seward Park

Location: South Seattle
Address: 5898 Lake Washington Blvd. S.
Acreage: 299.1

On an airplane descending into Seattle in clear weather, you can hear people ask, “What’s that green space jutting out into the lake?” The response, of course, is one of Seattle’s best gems: Seward Park.

Set aside in 1911, Seward Park, at 277 acres, is one of Seattle’s most important public spaces. It contains the oldest trees in Seattle and has the city’s only old growth upland forest. The Olmsted Brothers, who designed many of Seattle’s parks, did some of the initial design for Seward Park.

Before 1917, the park turned from a peninsula into an island each winter before the depth of Lake Washington was lowered by nine feet that year. In 1935 a fish hatchery was built in Seward Park and fishing became a popular activity with 250,000 trout released annually.

Because of its unusual shape sticking out into Lake Washington like a boot, the park has a very long shoreline and features an accessible path that takes runners, walkers and bikers on a flat 2.4-mile loop. Almost identical in length to Green Lake in north Seattle, Seward feels less like an urban park and more like an oasis. Its paths are rarely crowded, even on a sunny weekend afternoon.

On a weekday you can walk the shaded path and enjoy views of the water on one side and the still forest on the other without coming across another person for several minutes. Seward is also a great place to kayak and take in views of Mt. Rainier, Mercer Island and Seattle.

Few visitors seem to venture beyond the shore to explore the center, which rises steeply and holds a great diversity of trees and plants. You’ll find more secluded picnic shelters in the center of the park, as well as an amphitheater from 1953 that was originally built to hold musical performances. It’s now used for more informal nature programs. The area features a large lawn that’s great for kids to run around.

If venturing off the main path, warn kids to be cautious as there is a large poison oak problem in Seward Park.

As we came around the northeast corner of the park on the main path today, a seaplane circled the water and then beached itself on Seward’s pebbled shore. We watched 15 day campers wearing matching t-shirts jump up and down and wave to the pilot. It was a great sight.

As you round the final bend of the path, the swimming area appears which is set up in the north bay of the park. It is guarded during the summer and very popular with kids of all ages.

You’ll also find a great environmental education center that features regular programs and hosts speakers throughout the year. Just outside the main door a large white board is posted where you can write down the wildlife you’ve seen on your visit. Lucky visitors had seen bald eagles and turtles recently. Just another reason to check out Seward Park.

#1 (Visited 8/4/09)