There are few places in the Seattle where you will experience such a blended ecotone, providing…read moreenjoyable sites of beavers, herons, otter, frogs, raccoon and nearby nesting eagles. This secluded sanctuary is one of the most peaceful places to spend an afternoon in Madison park with a book and a container of warm tea. During the summer, you can visit late into the evening, watching the sunset and looking for the otters, beavers and listening to the frogs and crickets.

Came upon this trail on accident exploring a different direction on Mercer Island. Driving I-90…read moreWest I have seen the trail and always been curious to find it. Today's walk was very short onto the trail. Between the rain and the rain, I decided to walk a short way out just for the view. I believe this trail is more popular with bikers from what I have seen driving by it on the interstate. Not sure how keen I am on walking it again as it is right next to the highway which is bit scary, but I am down for trying again when the weather is nicer. Walking in the downpour rain not super fun. Happy I found it though. Update to come when I next venture on this urban trail.

During beautiful, warm and sunny summer days, the I-90 freeway trail is my top choice for a short…read morecardio run. I begin my run at Mercer Island and head onto the I-90 floating bridge where there's full exposure to the sun, the breeze and glorious views of Seattle and million dollar homes on the waterfront. Be mindful of a few things when taking this trail as a runner/walker: 1) There tends to be more bicyclists than pedestrians and runners so follow the rules of the road. For example, travel on the right and be wary of bikers as they pass you on the left; don't run down the middle! Before making a U turn, hug the right and ensure that there aren't any traffic right behind you for safety. 2) Though there are restrooms at the parks, there aren't any midway on the bridge so do your deed(s) before heading on the pavement. My worst nightmare is to be 2 miles from a port-a-potty and need to do a no. 2 in the middle of I-90. Thank goodness that hasn't happened!! 3) I like going earlier in the mornings on weekends when isn't no rush hour traffic, reason being the exhaust fumes can get pretty bad if it isn't windy. So far on the runs I have completed, I haven't had much of an issue unless a couple of illegal rust buckets dump their fumes on the roadway. 4) If you have acrophobia, the fear of heights, you may want to reconsider the bridge portion. Looking down the rails on the right side going towards Seattle from Mercer there will a distance between the bridge and the water that would ruin your journey. 5) It is your choice how long of a distance you want to run along this trail. The whole distance roundtrip from one end to end may be as long as 18-20 miles or if you are just doing a section of the bridge and back, it can be as short as 4 miles. To find this trail, you can go to the trailhead on 12th Ave S in Seattle or the Mercer Island parks (or the Park n Ride) off the Island Crest Way/Mercer Way exits. I believe you can start from Bellevue as well but have not tried that one and it is located at Enatai Beach Park on SE Lake Road.

Nice trail, came on a Saturday at 8am and was able to find parking in the main lot easily. Got…read morepretty crowded on the trail after 10am. Seeing lots of dog poop bags near the trailheads very disappointing to see, pick up after yourselves and leave no trace!!

This is my Go-To trail to take anyone visiting! Best bite-sized PNW hike…read more It is 12/10 on the reward-to-effort ratio. It's just hard enough to feel like a challenge (in a good way) but not too hard that it's not fun anymore for a non-hiker. The summit is stunning - you can see the lake and a blanket of beautiful evergreens from the top. Plenty of parking and places to picnic at the base too. The only con - it can get REALLY crowded as it is a popular hike, but hey make some new friends and see some cute dogs ^__^

Really beautiful view once you reach the end of the trail of Foster Island. View of the Lake…read moreWashington Union Bay area. The stadium is North... and Medina is East. Worth the extra 5 minutes off the main trail for sure.

Tiny emerald park, bisected by the road, with a webbed labyrinth of trails. It's nice to learn how…read morethe city rescued this land from development and turned it into a park.

With COVID still raging, I wanted to go somewhere that isn't necessarily popular and filled with…read morepeople, but still plenty charming. Cedar River Trail fit the bill perfectly. We parked at Liberty Park, which is next to the Renton library. From there, you can walk down to the trail, heading northward. The first part of the trail is a brick path, immediately adjacent to Cedar River. This portion gets flooded during the heavy rain season. On this pleasant day, we were visited by ducks and enjoyed some flowers along the way. This trail also goes pass one of the Boeing sites. If you trespass, you can get up close and personal to some 737's though I am not recommending that. :P The trail transitions to the official park portion, named Cedar River Trail Park. Normally, there are pamphlets for kids to explore nature. But with COVID, they are not leaving any papers out to grab. The area has picnic tables for your convenience. The north end of this trail is the Renton Rowing Center and the southern tip of Lake Washington. You can literally see Mercer Island in front of you, Seattle to the left, and Bellevue to the right. I loved standing here enjoying the breeze from the lake and the view. If you're lucky, there are several benches up for grabs here. Two sculptures during this walk were particularly fitting. A boat themed one with a message of we're all in this together, and a boy reading with a mask on. The round trip of my walk was just under 4 miles.

This is a great ~17 mile long trail that goes along the Cedar river that goes from Lake Washington…read moreall the was down to the watershed. Some portions are paved and very accessible while other areas are unpaved. I haven't been on the trial in it's entirety, but the areas I have been to are maintained nicely. Like many (if not all) of the trails in Washington, there's a variety of animals and scenery to enjoy and take in while you get some exercise in. There are also a few places along the way that have those "adult playgrounds," ...I mean exercise equipment...to further enhance your workout. There are actually playgrounds as well for the kiddos to enjoy! Well, once people decide to get with the program and keep their germs to themselves. Lots of open space, wear sunscreen!

This trail is about 20 miles long and (surprise!) follows along the Green River. Fairly wide,…read morepaved, and overall well maintained this is a popular biking trail, but works just fine if you're on foot as well. Smooth enough for rollerblading in most areas. There are numerous parking areas along this trail, and it connects directly with the Interurban in Tukwila and Kent for those looking to keep going south. There are a ton of parks and rest points along the way where you can see a lot of what Washington has to offer. At dusk and dawn you can find a TON of bunnies and perhaps even a coyote. Most areas have good lighting, but I wouldn't recommend using this trail as it gets dark due to random homeless encampments.

This is just under a 20 mile stretch of rail to trail project. Goes from the Tukwila-Seattle…read moreborder all the way to Kent starting along the Duwamish River which becomes the Green River. On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon it was pleasantly quiet, saw a few joggers and other bicyclists, but not crazy busy, made for a very pleasant trek down the first 8 miles or so and back. There are several spots where you can interconnect with the Interurban trail as well, paved with some bumpy spots, and mostly level without too many changes in elevation, so great for casual bikers like myself.

This park is really just not that spectacular. Especially for the neighborhood. First, it's rare…read moreto still see metal slides at a park which always makes me so nervous because of how hot they get. But also because it's just kinda old and run down. It's crazy because the playground for the school that is right below this one, is spectacular. But obviously, you cannot play while school is in session. Basically, this park is best for kids 4 and up. There really isn't much that's appropriate for toddlers other than the swings.

Swings, sandbox, spinner, play fields, and more! It's a great playground for a range of ages. And…read morethen there's 2 other awesome new playgrounds down the stairs at the wonderful BF Day Elementary School!