Golden Gardens

If you're looking for a shorter Seattle stairway walk, the Golden Gardens route is a good choice. Like the Solstice Park walk in West Seattle, it's scenic and full of interest, yet it can take less than an hour. It starts at the edge of the Loyal Heights neighborhood and descends 272 steps to Golden Gardens beach, with glorious views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound from there.

Loyal Heights is centrally located with respect to other northside neighborhoods and neighborhood attractions, which aren't mentioned in detail in the book, but are expanded on here, if you scroll down toward the bottom of this post.

The "www" icon shows where book readers can get extra pictorial or text content not included in the book.

The stairway down the bluff meets Golden Gardens Drive NW for the first time

Ready to head back up the Lower Bluff stairs from Golden Gardens Drive NW


From top of Lower Bluff stairs, looking over Golden Gardens Drive to Upper Bluff stairs


The Upper Bluff stairs under WPA construction in 1936

Ending the up-and-back route near Caffe Fiore

The book mentions in passing that there are several nearby attractions worth visiting. They're generally too far to include on the walk, and only one of them features stairways, but they do open a window on the other neighborhoods in the area and they're fun to explore. See directions and descriptions to these nearby attractions below. Each one begins from the starting point of the main route, at NW 85th Street and 32nd Avenue NW.

North Beach/Blue Ridge Neighborhood: This nearby side trip gives a more northward-looking view of the Sound and Olympic Mountains. It's easy to do it on foot, doubling your walking distance to a total of 2.8 miles (or you can drive it). Start at the junction of NW 85th Street and 32nd Avenue NW where you start the main route. Take 32nd north, going about 2/10 of a mile until you reach a three-way intersection. Take the middle street straight ahead, which puts you on Loyal Avenue NW. You'll begin a gradual downhill curve to the right until Loyal Avenue ends at View Avenue NW. At this point take a right onto View Avenue for excellent sightlines as far as 31st Avenue NW. You can return to your start either by retracing your steps or by turning right up 31st and making a loop back to NW 85th Street.

Crown Hill Glen Park: This is the first of two very cool attractions you can find heading east along NW 85th Street, in the Crown Hill neighborhood. Crown Hill Glen Park features 34 timber stairs overlooking a beautiful native garden, with more stairways connecting additional levels within the park. To get there, turn left onto 19th Avenue NW, which dead-ends right at Crown Hill Glen Park. The park consists of four lots of land the city bought in 1997 from the estate of George and Theodora Plumis under the Open Space bond program. During WWII the Plumis' used the property as a Victory Garden, and planted fruit trees and blackberries here as well. Today volunteers have restored the Glen with native vegetation and careful landscaping. It's a peaceful, scenic neighborhood haven for people and birds.

Baker Park: Baker Park is also in the Crown Hill neighborhood. It's located east of Crown Hill Glen Park, two blocks past busy 15th Avenue NW. Turn right (south) onto 14th Avenue, and you'll find the park just past the corner on the right. It extends a full block back, from 14th to Mary Avenue, where there's another park exit/entrance. The land was acquired by the Open Space bond program the same year as Crown Hill Glen Park, and it too was built with heavy community involvement. There's a small butterfly garden, and don't miss the unusual totem pole in the back. It was carved from a dead Monkey Puzzle tree, right on the spot.

Sunset Hill Park: From the start of the main stairway walk route, drive south on 32nd Avenue NW to explore the nearby Sunset Hill neighborhood. Sunset Hill Park is popular with the locals, for its broad views from Shilshole Marina across the Sound to the Olympic Mountains. From 32nd turn right onto NW 75th Street. Two blocks straight ahead, the street runs right into the park. Turn right onto 34th Avenue NW, and you'll find plenty of streetside parking.

Farther south in Sunset Hill, you can learn about this area's deep Norwegian roots at the Nordic Heritage Museum. To get there from Sunset Hill park, go south on 32nd Avenue NW, turning left onto NW 68th Street. The museum entrance is on the right.


Nearby attractions are shown by yellow pins

Stone birdbaths at Crown Hill Glen Park

Baker Park's 14th Avenue entrance

The locals enjoy gorgeous views from tucked-away Sunset Hill Park

Fremont

Arguably, the streets of Fremont are alive with more color, energy and visual interest than any other neighborhood. It's a mashup of blue-collar, artsy-bohemian, and high-tech hipster, a direct reflection of the 100-year-plus history of this neighborhood. If you do both routes detailed in the book, you'll come away with a broad view of this hugely varied neighborhood.

The main route starts along the ship canal, then climbs up to the northern border of Fremont at Fremont Peak Park, a very cool pocket park with a mythological theme and big views to the west. After that you work your way back down along the eastern side of the neighborhood. This walk is replete with those characteristic revelatory Seattle stairs - always showing you out-of-the-way nooks and crannies you'd never see otherwise!

The optional route adds a loop past the tourist attractions in the commercial zone, like the Lenin statue and the Bridge Troll, the famous "Waiting for the Interurban" staute and the beautifully renovated Fremont Library, with a new little companion park and curvaceous stairway on the side.

The "www" icon points out additional pictorial content, referenced in the book, that is included here in the form of a slideshow. You can view more pictures below that.

Top of the second flight, N 40th Street stairs

Fremont Peak Park, pictured in the slideshow above, is a recent grassroots creation and a real point of pride in the neighborhood. For the story of its local roots, take a look at this Seattle Times piece, Fremont Peak Park Story. For a fascinating description of the park's mythological and astronomical references, check out the website of the lead artist, Laura Haddad.

"Emergency Phone" whimsy, Greenwood Avenue N in Fremont

Walking down the second flight of Bowdoin Place stairs, toward Fremont Avenue N

Fremont bridge opens for a boat moving along the Ship Canal in early morning