Seattle, Washington – A Walker’s Paradise
I recently visited Seattle, Washington for a long weekend and it was well worth the 5 hour flight. The thing I love about Seattle, other than the low humidity, is the fact that there are so many in town neighborhoods that are a walker’s paradise.
I stayed in West Seattle where it was an easy walk to restaurants, bars, coffee shops, music stores and best of all a cupcake shop! If we had walked in the other direction we would have been in the Alki beach area with the restaurants looking over both water and the mountains. The strip of pebbly beach that runs from Alki Point to Duwamish Head is about 2.5 miles. The water temperature ranges from 46 to 56 degrees Fahrenheit so your activities will be confined to dry land unless you are particularly hearty.
The neighborhood was very hilly so I felt like I was able to get a reasonably good workout, at least good enough to enjoy a cupcake from Cupcake Royale. There is a preserve located in West Seattle that was within walking distance of where I was staying. The preserve has walking paths and you can walk through an old growth forest without leaving the city.
Within a couple of hours of Seattle your walking and hiking opportunities are almost endless. On my most recent trip we hiked a trail in Mt. Rainier National Park which provided a spectacular view of the mountain. We packed a picnic lunch and hiked 3 miles mostly up hill to a small clearing and enjoyed our lunch and a beautiful view.
When I visited Seattle several years ago we drove to Snoqualmie Falls which is 28 miles east of Seattle. Although the falls are fairly touristy we experienced few crowds, of course it was February. Though not known for great weather in the winter we enjoyed a bright blue sky the day we were there. The falls cascade down a noisy 270 feet. There is a well groomed though muddy trail that goes to the bottom of the falls.
It is no wonder that Seattle, Washington is such a popular place to live. If you love the outdoors it is worth a visit to this walker friendly city.
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I just moved here two weeks ago, LOVE IT.
Seattle is a wonderful place to go walking (or hiking). With Mt. Rainier in the distance it is hard to beat the views when it is sunny!
I love walking around Seattle. It is beautiful even in the rain!
The best thing about walking in Seattle is you are never far away from a good cup of coffee or a place selling cupcakes.