West Seattle has a great path along the entire waterfront and the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook is…read moreone of the lovely stops along the way. There's a good amount of seating areas, beautiful views, and beach access. Come here at the "right" times of the year to see whales, seals, sea lions, and otters. On the day I went I saw a few otters, but everyone else was either absent or hiding well.

Beautiful place to stop, watch the ocean or walk around in West Seattle. From here, you can see…read moreBlake Island and Fort Ward. Peaceful, calm, serene in the warm months. Watch people kite surfing and sailing. Bring a special someone and hug it out while watching the sunset. Saw a guy snoozing in his convertible, content as could be.

Small but interesting little park with Duwamish water access. Tucked away behind the federal…read morebuilding south. Launch a canoe if so inclined, watch the tug boats et al and enjoy a picnic table or two.

Excellent views for a small overlook park. When Volunteer Park is filled to overflowing, this is my…read morego-to because it is only a few blocks away. There are views of the water, a steep green dive (See pic), and hummingbirds! They've been scarce for me this year, but they swarmed into and out of the trees. Seating can be limited but don't hesitate to perch under the trees.

While visiting Bruce Lee's gravesite at Lake View Cemetery, we came across Boren park which is…read moredirectly across the street from the cemetery. Boren Park is a small park with a few benches with not much to do but it provides some awesome views of Lake Washington. I had to stop by to take pictures of the view.

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.

There is plenty of free street parking for cars (the associated paved lot here is pay-by-phone, but…read moreI think it's reserved for people who are actively using the boat ramp/on the water as this is one of the most popular saltwater boat ramps due to proximity to salmon fishing spots). Launch permits are required here. There's a public restroom here as well which was pretty clean when I visited. The view of Seattle's skyline across Elliott Bay is very pretty here. When I visited there were a bunch of photographers and people walking around enjoying the day. There were also a lot of car lovers parked here posing with their cars and hanging out. Interesting spot to choose to gather, but really adds to the atmosphere! They weren't bothering anyone and the park wasn't particularly busy. I'm sure they would let you take photos of their cars too if you wanted.

I recently found this park and I'm really in awe of what a wonderful view of the Seattle skyline…read morethere is. It's one of my newly found favorite parks. There was plenty of parking when I went, which I was kind of shocked about because I thought it would be more popular because if you take a look at the pictures, it's just so awesome. It has a small walking pathway and benches along the way if you want to stop and just gaze. It's almost too hard to take it all in since it's so quiet and serene. There are more grassy areas nearby as well if you want to lay out a blanket or a yoga mat or have a picnic. I was going to say there isn't a playground or anything for kids, but who needs a playground when there is just so much to see naturally. The water is actually super clear as well. Watch the boats go by or people watch or you may or may not see some special wildlife pop up. It's really a great place to relax. They do have restroom facilities on site just in case.

Me-Kwa-Mooks is a great park to experience a Seattle sunset in the summer evening. With its…read moremajestic water views of Vashon Island and vibrant sky colors I find myself blown away with natures gifts... Street parking is the option in case your wondering and bring your own chair for the experience.

What a lovely hidden Seattle gem! Admiral Viewpoint located in West Seattle is just across from…read moreBelvedere Park. There's an easy pull out from the road that allows for convenient parallel parking. Big beautiful view of the Elliot Bay and Seattle on the yonder shore. Due to the natural fauna on the hillside- this view is better during the wintertime when there's less leaves on the trees. But still beautiful year round. Another neat thing about Admiral Viewpoint is the giant totem pole near the front of the drive. It's one of the few in Seattle and it's very impressive. It's well worth it to take a few minutes from snapping pics and selfies to read the park signs and plaques here. They detail some of the history of the area and the significance of this beautiful work of art!

What I liked about this viewpoint is that you could come at any time since it's kind of on the side…read moreof the road. I did come here on bad weather(freezing and rainy) but I wish it had maybe an overhang of some sort. It did have a cool view of downtown and you could make out the great wheel and the space needle as well.

Terminal 107 Park (T-107 Park) is a beautiful Port of Seattle park providing public shoreline…read moreaccess to the Duwamish River and walking trails to roam through groves of trees. I visited this park a couple of times in early September this year, 2020, and enjoyed each of my visits. A sign trimmed by a neon lime green metal frame is easily visible from W Marginal Way SW marking where to pull in if you are driving to this location. The park is also located alongside the Duwamish Trail, making walking access easy as well. Walking trails loop throughout the park and lead down to the shore of the Duwamish River in a few locations. The trees are cool and I encountered a number of apple trees so ripe and bursting with fruit that the ripened apples had started dropping to the ground. Birds are in abundance here as well, I even saw a Great Blue Heron befriend some ducks one day and a junco foraging away. The tail of the West Seattle Bridge can be glimpsed from certain spots along the river. In addition to the trails, trees, and shoreline access there is a scaled down replica of a former fishing boat used in the area, a story trail towards the south end of the park, large grassy areas to walk or play around, benches to look out over the water and the park, and covered picnic tables. The parking lot is easy to pull in and out of and can hold a small number of cars. Herring's House Park borders Terminal 107 Park to the north, and I found the distinguishing feature between the two was that the trails in Herring's House Park were paved near the boundary of the two parks. The two parks have separate parking lots though there is walking access between them.

Now renamed the name of the native village that was here at least 1400 years. Archaeological dig…read moreproved natives well living here along this river and eating shellfish here since before the time of King Charlemagne. Duwamish Tribe has its longhouse & museum across the street from this archaeological site. Someone needs to erect a marker that this place is on the World Historic Cultural Register. See 1970's archaeological report inside the Duwamish Longhouse. More info at www.DuwamishTribe.org Chief Seattle was joint Chief of the Duwamish & Suquamish Tribes. Seattle's mother was Duwamish. Some Duwamish lived along the river. Seattle's mother was from the People of the Lake. Chief Seattle's father was Suquamish so Chief Seattle ended up being chief of both related Coast Salish tribes. From this park you can see bird life and Kellogg Island in the river. Look North towards the West Seattle bridge to see Osprey nesting platform and Perigrine Falcons who nest under the bridge. The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, especially James Rasmussen, have worked decades to clean up the environmental damage businesses have done to this river since non natives settled starting in the 1850's. Currently fish caught in this river would still be carcinogenic, but many people are fighting so that perhaps someday the fish is not carcinogenic and it becomes safe to wade in the polluted river. Lots of native plantings have been added in the parks along the river. If you are attending an event at the Duwamish Longhouse, probably you would park here at the park's parking lot. Soon a proper crosswalk will be added so people can safely cross the road with fast truck drivers not always watching for pedestrians. A new path along the river has been added so pedestrians and bikes can travel more safely. This park parking lot also might be overflow parking for events at the Heron's Nest property, about a half mile South of this park.