Seattle's many parks are what make this such a livable city. In the downtown area, Myrtle Edwards Park, 3130 Alaska Way W (tel. 206/684-4075), at the north end of the waterfront, is an ideal spot for a sunset stroll with views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. The park includes a 1 1/4-mile paved pathway.
Freeway Park, at Sixth Avenue and Seneca Street, is one of Seattle's most unusual parks. Built right on top of busy Interstate 5, this green space is more a series of urban plazas, with terraces, waterfalls, and cement planters creating walls of greenery. You'd never know that a roaring freeway lies beneath your feet. Unfortunately, although the park is convenient, the isolated nature of its many nooks and crannies often gives it a deserted and slightly threatening feel.
For serious communing with nature, however, nothing will do but Discovery Park, 3801 W. Government Way (tel. 206/386-4236). Occupying a high bluff and sandy point jutting into Puget Sound, this is Seattle's largest and wildest park. You can easily spend a day wandering the trails and beaches here. The park's visitor center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8:30am to 5pm. Discovery Park is a 15-minute drive from downtown; to reach the park, follow the waterfront north from downtown Seattle toward the Magnolia neighborhood and watch for signs to the park. When you reach the park, follow signed trails down to the beach and out to the lighthouse at the point. Although the lighthouse is not open to the public, the views from the beach make this a good destination for an hour's walk. The beach and park's bluff-top meadows both make good picnic spots.
Up on Capitol Hill, at East Prospect Street and 14th Avenue East, you'll find Volunteer Park, 1247 15th Ave. E (tel. 206/684-4075), which is surrounded by the elegant mansions of Capitol Hill. It's a popular spot for sunning and playing Frisbee, and it's home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum, an amphitheater, a water tower with a superb view of the city, and a conservatory filled with tropical and desert plants. With so much variety, you can easily spend a morning or afternoon exploring this park.
On the east side of Seattle, along the shore of Lake Washington, you'll find not only swimming beaches but also Seward Park, 5898 Lake Washington Blvd. (tel. 206/684-4075). This large park's waterfront areas may be its biggest attraction, but it also has a dense forest with trails winding through it. Keep an eye out for the bald eagles that nest here. This park is south of the I-90 floating bridge off Lake Washington Boulevard South. From downtown Seattle, follow Madison Street northeast and turn right onto Lake Washington Boulevard.
In north Seattle, you'll find several parks worth visiting. These include the unique Gasworks Park, 2101 N. Northlake Way, at Meridian Avenue North (tel. 206/684-4075), at the north end of Lake Union. In the middle of its green lawns, this park holds the rusting hulk of an old industrial plant, and the park's small Kite Hill is the city's favorite kite-flying spot. North of here, on Green Lake Way North near the Woodland Park Zoo, you'll find Green Lake Park, 7201 E. Green Lake Dr. N (tel. 206/684-4075), which is a center for exercise buffs who jog, bike, and skate around the park on a 2 3/4-mile paved path. It's also possible to swim in the lake (there are changing rooms and a beach with summer lifeguards) and picnic on the many grassy areas.
North of the Ballard neighborhood, you'll find Golden Gardens, 8498 Seaview Place NW (tel. 206/684-4075), which, with its excellent views of the Olympic Mountains and its somewhat wild feeling, is our favorite Seattle waterfront park. You'll find great views, some small wetlands, and a short trail. But Golden Gardens is best known as one of Seattle's best beaches, and even though the water here is too cold for swimming, the sandy beach is a pleasant spot for a sunset stroll. People often gather here on summer evenings to build fires on the beach. To reach this park, drive north from the waterfront on Elliott Avenue, which becomes 15th Avenue West; after crossing the Ballard Bridge, turn left on Market Street and follow this road for about 2 miles (it will change names to become NW 54th St. and then Seaview Ave. NW).
