The Bellevue Demonstration Garden is a secret garden in the neighborhoods of Lake Hills!…read more(Bellevue). The Garden is connected to a wonderful trail system and I love walking from the garden over to lake Larsen and the blueberry patch. The garden is wheelchair and stroller accessible, it is suitable for children. The demonstration garden is maintained by volunteers from Master Gardeners of King County. Features include Diagnostic Plant Clinics (free consultation on garden topics), Compost Center, Greenhouse Operations, Children's Garden, over 40 demonstration beds and gardens, Saturday Workshop Series and seasonal plant sales. I love visiting this hidden gem throughout the season.

A sign at this park says the Pet Memorial Garden, aka Pet Garden, is "the first of its kind in the…read moreregion. The 1.25 acre area is envisioned as an oasis where you and your family may celebrate a living, lost or deceased pet." Somewhat hidden, it's fenced off from the Off-Leash Dog Area except a gate and accessible via a gate at the end of the Community Gardens. Unless a person happens to be wandering to the end of the gardens, which is what we did, it isn't obvious this garden is back there. If not for a sizable wooden statue drawing our attention, we wouldn't have noticed this separate area. Donors can choose to fund a garden stone or paver with a message for their beloved pets. At the Celebration Wall, cremated animal remains can be interred in the wall. Containers are secured inside the wall and a rock façade is available with inscription of the pet's name. Benches and plants can be sponsored too. At the far side is a wooden statue, titled "Wek Wek the Falcon Man, Chief and Captain of all the bird people, created people from the birds". The sculpture was carved by renown sculptor, Dudley Carter, 1891 - 1992. Though the off-leash dog area was busy, this garden was very quiet with few visitors. Thusly, it is indeed a peaceful area, rightfully so for the purpose of honoring one's pet(s). We walked a loop, reading the sweet inscribed messages left for the fur babies. While I wouldn't recommend coming here just to visit this modest garden, it is worth looking for it if you're in the area. Some of the messages will warm your heart for sure.

Such a cute park hidden away. Wide switch back paths with open fields. Community pea patches to…read moregrow flowers or vegetables. Such a fun kids play area with water feature.

Really nice park that has apple trees that bloom and a community garden. Always come by here when I…read moream in Sammamish. The only issue is that the climb down is too steep for my grandmother and many elderly citizens.

This is a great place that's next to Jefferson Park…read more If you check out their Instagram page, they post about volunteer meet ups weekly to tend to the gardens and clean up around the area. The amazing thing about this place that there are plots where you can rent them privately to grow your own produce. There are other plots that the volunteers and community members utilize to grow various fruits and vegetables for anyone to harvest. Depending on the season, you can get apples, lavender, thyme, tomatoes, squash, etc. I highly recommend taking a stroll through this area to admire all the amazing fruits and foods that are being grown in an urban area. Sometimes they have paper bags available so that you can harvest various items from the gardens, but they aren't available all the time so be sure to bring your own reusable bag and or containers.

I've been wanting to go to the Beacon Food Forest ever since I heard about it! This garden is a lot…read morelike a community garden... but usually it is implied that those putting in the work for the garden usually get the rewards from it. Those that do are usually people from the neighborhood or volunteers. From my understanding the Beacon Food Forest is just a little bit different. Most of the produce that is grown here anyone that walks through and sees a piece of fruit or a vegetable is free to take it for themselves. With that concept in mind I have to give this community garden five stars. That doesn't mean that applies to the entire garden however. Some areas are rented out and there are signs where the rented spaces are NOT to take the produce that is being grown there. From the looks of it most people seem to be very respectful of that request. Lots of the produce that I saw that was free for the taking was very under ripe but there was indeed some there for you to take... it wasn't completely picked over! There are a number of fun little paths to do an urban hike through the garden which is lots of fun. There are fun decorations too like a whole section of painted rocks and a funky looking scarecrow. The Beacon Food Forest is actually quite large for a community garden... but during my hikes through the area I wish it was bigger... it was a refreshing hike and change of scenery. All urban centers should have these food forests throughout.

I visited this park for the first time to play the disc golf course. It's the closest option to…read moreBellevue and Kirkland - a shame these larger cities don't provide facilities for this fun game that's growing in popularity. This park itself is really nice with a wonderfully designed and maintained community garden and several trail options for casual strolls and dog walks. There is a porta-potty at the parking lot and several buildings on site. The disc golf course squeezes 18 holes into a compact, mostly open space. There are two tees for each of the nine baskets to add some variety for the second time around. The grass was of uniform length, with trees shielding several of the baskets. If the grass were allowed to grow longer, a more diverse layout could be created with fairway and rough areas, which would enhance the layout. Unfortunately, on the day we played, the ground was very saturated, with several areas of standing water. The course was still playable, but waterproof shoes were a must. The area needs better drainage or an infusion of sand. Overall, it was still fun and we were happy to find another option to play on the Eastside.