Stairway Walk with Salmon

If our experience today (Friday) is any guide, you still might be able to see a salmon or two if you take the Longfellow Creek and Pigeon Point stairway walk this weekend. The Coho run is drawing to a close, but today we saw several beautiful fish in Longfellow Creek. As the video below shows, one pair moved together in close coordination, which we hope is a sign of successful spawning.

More than other salmon in our region, Coho seem especially drawn upstream during storm surges, which can work against them. Last year in Longfellow Creek, many died or simply failed to spawn when high runoff brought too many toxins into the creek.

The video below was taken under aptly-named Salmon Bone Bridge. We think these are Coho, but in the video Jake calls them "Steelhead."

South Magnolia Stairway Walk: Coming Attraction

At the bottom of the proposed street-end park, looking south toward Mt. Rainier

The Seattle Parks Department is moving ahead with plans for a new "pocket park" right on the South Magnolia stairway walk. It's a street-end right of way with gorgeous views of the Sound, just off Perkins Lane at the base of the bluff. City Park's plan is to clear blackberries away from the slopes surrounding an existing path down to the shore, add a picnic table and viewpoint, and generally open up a public space that until now has been pretty much shrouded in secrecy. Our book doesn't mention this cool site, because it never occurred to us to explore what's behind the fence and gate that seemingly blocked access. It turns out to be a gem of a site, as the slides below suggest.

Most residents along Perkins Lane have been opposed to this Parks project, though others living at the top of the bluff seem supportive. At a community meeting to review the project, Perkins Lane residents talked about their concerns over partying and congestion, and voiced skepticism that SDOT will take care of the site over the long haul. The city has addressed these concerns in writing, though it's not clear if the city's response will change any minds.

Assuming the project does happen in the next months, it'll be yet another reason to try this wonderful stairway walk! For a look at more of the city's street-ends projects, check out this page.