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Links & Media

* Seattle Channel's City Stream: Seattle Stairways (2016) 

* KPLU 88.1 "Tourist in Your Own Town" - Mount Baker Stairway Walk (2013)

* KING 5 Evening Magazine - Discover the Secret Stairways of Seattle (2013)

* KUOW News - The Hidden Legacy of Seattle Stairways (2013)

* AAA Journey - Last Stop: Stair Attraction (2012)

* Seattle Times - Guidebook Authors Show Ups and Downs. . . (2012)

Feet First - Seattle Walkability Advocates

* Sound Steps - Great Walking Groups for Over-50s!

* WalkOn inBellWa! - Walking Routes in Bellevue's Parks and Neighborhoods

Inventory of Seattle Stairs of 100 Steps or More website by Doug Beyerlein

* All Stairs Seattle Guide website by Susan Ott & Dave Ralph

* Year of Walking Seattle's Parks blog by Linnea Westerlind

*KOMO News - Year of Mapping Seattle's Stairs (2011)

*Seattle Times -  Queen Anne Stairways Map (2009)

* Washington Trails Association Magazine -  Urban Hiking (2007)

* Seattle Times - Seattle Stairways: Taking Time to Learn More About the City (2003)

* Seattle Weekly - Stairway Weekend (1999)

The Mountaineers as well as our publisher, Mountaineers Books

Seattle Stairway Walks: An Up-and-Down Guide to City Neighborhoods 

by Jake & Cathy Jaramillo

* The only guidebook to stairway walks in Seattle
* Explore Seattle neighborhoods in a new way with these interesting walks in Seattle
* Written for people of all ages who want to get outside, exercise, and explore
*Learn more --> 


ORDER TODAY

Tuesday
Jun072011

The Olmsted Vision: Arboretum, Interlaken and Volunteer Park

The legendary Olmsted Firm's formative impact on Seattle can be sampled in a trio of parks: Washington Park Arboretum, Interlaken Park and Volunteer Park. They march in sequence to the top of Capitol Hill from the northeast, through the Montlake, Stevens and Broadway neighborhoods, respectively. On this route you'll see the vibrant residential architecture that was created for a newly prospering middle and upper class, at about the same time the Olmsted Firm embarked on a 33-year planning partnership with Seattle, in Spring of 1903.

There are cool and unusual stairways along the way too. Interlaken Park has stairs that force you to carefully watch where you're putting your feet, because each hand-hewn stone step is shaped differently from the one before. Then there's Volunteer Park Water Tower, where 106 steps spiral 75 feet up a steel staircase, sandwiched narrowly between the inner tank and the outer masonry shell. At the top you'll get 360-degree vistas of the Seattle skyline and Bellevue to the east, along with a comprehensive exhibit on the history of the Olmsted Firm in Seattle.

The "www" icon indicates the additional pictures and text referenced in the book. Please scroll down for more pictures.

Louisa Boren was a member of the Denny party that landed at Alki in 1851 to found Seattle. In 1853 she married David Denny, younger brother of the party's leader, in Seattle's first non-native wedding. Louisa was David's life partner through many of the projects that built Seattle, and for a time made the Dennys the wealthiest family in the city. The panic of 1893 almost entirely wiped them out, and David Denny took various jobs into his late 60s in order to support the family. He died at age 71.

Louisa Boren Park was carved out of Interlaken Park in 1913. At the time she died, in 1916, Louisa was the last surviving member of the Denny party.

 

The route near the beginning passes straight ahead past a small play area; to enter the bulk of the Arboretum, you'd turn left here to cross the Wilcox Trestle

The Stevens neighborhood is filled with lovely houses and yards; here a Tulip tree blossoms in early Spring

Volunteer Park Cafe is a neighborhood fixture...with great food

Cherry blossoms near the end of the route, on a wet Spring day near the end of the walk

Wednesday
May252011

Maple Leaf and Thornton Creek

For a kaleidoscopic view of nature, urban art and environmental design, this Seattle stairway walk is unparalleled! Thornton Creek, the biggest year-round creek in Seattle, provides the running theme for this exploration of Seattle stairs. You'll cross and re-cross it; view it bank-side; stand on a bridge viewing it from tree-canopy height; and see how it's engineered by humans and animals (yup, beavers)! At 4.7 miles, this is the longest stairway walk in the book, full of interesting things to do and see.

The "www" icon just above the slideshow means it contains additional pictorial content that was referenced in the book. Scroll below that for even more views from this walk.

 

Looking down into the Knickerbocker Flood Plain, Kingfisher Natural Area




Creekside view at La Villa Meadows Natural Area


A side trip down an unpaved lane leads to a beautiful view of Thornton Creek; a trail on the other side, just out of the frame to the right, begs for future exploration



This view overlaps right side of picture above, one year later

 

A close view of beaver handiwork



"Bad Buoys" is part of a sculptural suite by Benson Shaw at Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel

Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel (TCWQC): designed for urban nature


A discreet entryway: NE 95th Street stairs


Finishing up: heading down the NE 95th Street stairs to Lake City Way