Daily Amusements of A Midwest Girl: 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Seattle

There are so many options for hiking in the state of Washington; so many, that I am constantly overwhelmed with choices. One of my favorite regions of Washington to hike is the Olympic Peninsula. The Olympic Peninsula is gorgeous and the majority of it can be hiked year-round; however, it can involve 8+ hours of driving for a roundtrip from Seattle. There are days when I do not feel like being on the road for hours and want to quickly get to an enjoyable trailhead, and on these days I consult my 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Seattle book. It is also a great resource to use since the days are shorter during autumn and winter months. I have vowed to complete all 60 hikes featured in the book…eventually.

Each year, I make progress towards this goal; in 2014 I completed the following hikes, and included a review and pictures of each hike featured in the book: Schmitz Preserve Park, Woodland Park and Green Lake Park, Blake Island State Park, Mercer Slough and Bellefields Nature Parks, Cedar River Trail (Landsburg to Big Bend Natural Area), Snoqualmie Falls Viewpoint (via Preston-Snoqualmie Rail-Trail), Annette Lake and Asahel Curtis Nature Trail, Lime Kiln Trail at Robe Canyon Historic Park, and Flaming Geyser State Park.

Schmitz Preserve Park

This was an urban hike I accomplished during the autumn. I was already over in West Seattle doing another urban hike (Lincoln Park) and stop at Schmitz’s trailhead on my way back to Seattle. The entire time you are shaded by the forest, and I went on a rainy day and the trail was especially muddy. The boardwalks and bridges on this trail were very photogenic with fallen leaves. I hike so much in remote areas that since this was an urban hike (neighborhood park), it was odd to see people talking on cell phones and taking their dogs on walks through the forest.

Woodland Park and Green Lake Park

I have hiked the perimeter of Green Lake Park and have gone to the Woodland Park Zoo before; however, I hadn’t visited the Woodland Rose Garden. On this particular autumn day I walked the perimeter of Green Lake and visited the Woodland Rose Garden. I was pleasantly surprised how many plants and flowers were still blooming when I arrived at the Rose Garden. I can imagine how busy this garden will get on warm, sunny days…but I once again visited it on a rainy day, and almost had the place to myself.

Blake Island State Park

Blake Island is an interesting destination. You can only access the island via boat, kayak, or by taking an Argosy Cruise ship; there is no ferry that makes a trip. Therefore, the entire island has ZERO roads, because there’s no way for a car to reach it. Blake Island is popular among Seattle tourists because it has Tillicum Village, which features daily meals consisting of salmon cooked on cedar stakes as guests watch Dance on the Wind, an interpretive stage show. My friend and I were going to the island strictly for hiking (this was during the summertime) and went via an Argosy Cruise ship; fellow passengers consisted of those who were participating in the salmon dinner, campers, and other hikers. I am sure if I did hiking on this island when I first moved to Seattle, I would have been more impressed. The island has beaches of course, but the forest consists of trees and a lot of ferns; it wasn’t very diverse and was very comparable to trail terrain found on Vashon Island (which cars can be taken via ferry boats).

View of Blake Island from the ship

Trail system on Blake Island

Photo of the Argosy ship that we took over to Blake Island

You can see the Seattle skyline through the haze

Mercer Slough and Bellefields Nature Parks

The Washington Trail Association recommended this hike as a “must-do” during autumn because the blueberry farms that are part of this trail turn a deep red-purple. This was an urban hike and is located in the city of Bellevue. This is an interesting urban hike with lots of boardwalks and bridges. There were some wildlife sightings in the wetland area of this hike. You can see the skyscapers of Bellevue from this trail, and even on a cloudy, rainy dad there was a lot of people on this trail.

Cedar River Trail: Landsburg Park to Big Bend Natural Area

This is a trial that you can hike at various distances (3-14 miles); I ended up doing 6 miles of the trail with the main point of attraction being the Fort Pitt Bridge. This was another hike recommended by the Washington Trail Association for autumn hiking; in addition, Instagram followers were capturing great photos with canopies of red leaves at the Fort Pitt Bridge. Unfortunatley, I waited just a little too late and didn’t get to see the saturation of fall colors. Across the street from the trailhead is a Salmon Hatchery and people were taking tours of the facility, and it was during this time that the salmon were spawning in the Cedar River.

Snoqualmie Falls Viewpoint via Preston-Snoqualmie Rail-Trail

Snoqualmie Waterfall is a must-see tourist attraction, and the state of Washington has a visitor city and multiple viewpoint advantages to meet this demand. In 2013, they finished the boardwalk that allowed visitors to hike down to the “base” of the waterfall. Prior to the boardwalk construction, there were just upper viewpoints. Upon arriving at this trailhead’s parking lot, you can either take the Preston-Snoqualmie Rail Trail to the left or to the right for the waterfall. In this hike they state that this trail allows “a view of the falls that most people never see.” Sounds promising, right? Well, you can barely see the waterfalls because the trees have grown so tall and are overgrown, which makes for a very, very, very limited view; so limited that I didn’t even take a picture of it. I also did the other side of the trail from the parking lot, and this was a more memorable trail. You don’t see the waterfall, but there is a beautiful bridge, switchback containing wall, and river. My recommendation, to see the waterfall go to the visitor center; but if you want to this trail, at the parking lot hike the trailhead on the left side.

Annette Lake and Asahel Curtis Nature Trail

This was my favorite hike from the book this year; and I hiked it during late summer. Annette Lake could also be named "The Mushroom Trail" because it had so many different mushrooms and some of the coolest ones I have ever seen. This trail also has some unique bridges; one of them is a fallen tree and the Washington Trail Association has carved indentation into it. Annette Lake is clear and aquamarine in color. Due to overgrown brush and plant life it is difficult to hike the entire perimeter of the lake, and I left all means of bushwhacking at home. From one of the accessible sides of the lake you can see a waterfall coming through the rocks. While I was there, people had camped the night before and said the sunset was amazing. I also did the Asahel Curtis Nature Trail, and in my opinion, the most interesting part of this family-friendly trail was the first .25 miles.

Lime Kiln Trail at Robe Canyon Historic Park

First off, the books indicates that there are restrooms at the trailhead; there are not! The drive on this Autumn morning was foggy but it had burned off by the time we got to the trailhead. On the trail, there were a lot of fallen leaves, and there were some gigantic leaves (bigger than my entire torso). The majority of the rusted artifacts are very visible but there are a few that were camouflaged into nature. The Lime Kiln was our turnaround point for this trail. In the book, it looks like there is a side trip available to Hubbard Lake but it is a private road/trail. The trail offers viewpoints of the South Fork Stillaguamish River, but you are never really close to it.

View of the Stillaguamish River from the trail

Flaming Geyser State Park

First off, don't make a trip with this hike being the main focus; because it will be severely underwhelming. We made this trip after spending time at Mount Rainier National Park and wanted to do a little more hiking. In addition, keep your expectations in check with the word "geyser," because the geysers here are nothing like what you find at Yellowstone Park. At this park, there are two geysers: Flaming Geyser and Bubbling Geyser. In my opinion, Bubbling Geyser was more impressive than Flaming Geyser. We were the only ones hiking, everyone else seemed to be at the park for kayaking/canoeing down the Green River.