A Stairway Transformed: Cedar Park
We've previously mentioned the refurbishing of the NE 130th Street stairway along the Cedar Park route. The work has been complete for about 10 months, so today we decided to take advantage of the bright winter sunshine by putting on our walking shoes and heading out to document the results.
The "Cedar Park and the Burke-Gilman Trail" stairway walk (see Chapter 4) wanders up and down the forested bluff at the northwest corner of Lake Washington, through an off-the-beaten track, north Seattle neighborhood. Because many of the trees on the bluff lose their leaves for winter, sunny winter days give exhilarating glimpses of the thickly forested hills rising just across the lake to mark St. Edwards State Park. You'll also get views of the snow-covered Cascades far in the distance to the northeast, especially from the long NE 135th Street stairway near the start of the walk (196 steps).
The refurbished stairway takes you from a street contouring along the bluff, all the way down to the Burke-Gilman Trail at the lakeshore. From there you stroll along the Trail for a while, before heading back up the bluff to complete the route. Here are a few before-and-after pictures of the newly refurbished NE 130th Street stairs.