Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A Walk Into Spring at Discovery Park
Granted it comes and goes this first week of March, spring that is, with some warm and sunny days, followed by cold and rainy ones. Fortunately for us, we picked the best day earlier this week to visit Discovery Park in Seattle, heading north on Highway 99 and through the new tunnel.
On the other side, we went through the quirky neighborhoods of Fremont and Ballard, before arriving at our destination.
We chose the south entrance to the park and walked the trail to the bluff.
on the way enjoying the budding foliage of flowering currant,
and the open meadow where old parts of Ft. Lawton remain,
and happy doggies played in the field, charming even to a cat person like me!
“Discovery Park is a 534-acre natural area park operated by Seattle Parks and Recreation. It is the largest city park in Seattle, and occupies most of the former Fort Lawton site. Situated on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, Discovery Park offers spectacular views of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mountain ranges. The secluded site includes two miles of protected tidal beaches as well as open meadow lands, dramatic sea cliffs, forest groves, active dunes, thickets and streams. The role of Discovery Park is to provide an open space of quiet and tranquility away from the stress and activity of the city, a sanctuary for wildlife, as well as an outdoor classroom for people to learn about the natural world. Maintained in its semi-natural condition, the park will continue to offer a biologically rich and diverse natural area for urban dwellers and an unmatched opportunity for environmental education.” Seattle Parks website
Honestly, I found the park to be a bit of a puzzle, as you couldn’t drive to the beach below, and Bob remembered the trail down being pretty steep so we didn’t take it. Then again, we got a late start, and were hungry for lunch, so headed out to Ray’s Cafe on Shilshole Bay, and that is my delicious salad with shrimp and scallops.
It was a fun day and we promised we’d be back to explore the beach (we’ll look into getting the parking permit,) the Visitor Center (currently closed,) and the Daybreak Star Indian Culture Center.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Wow! Such a big and beautiful park, thank you for sharing this!!
So glad you enjoyed it! It’s so big it will take multiple visits to figure it out!
That sounds like a good deal, Susanne! šš»šā¤ļø
How is your grass so green already? We had a bit of snow this morning, and our grass is mainly brown. I loved the playing pups ā and your yummy salad!
Amazing, isn’t it? We’re the evergreen state! š
A nice day out. Don’t think I ever visited that one though I’ve been to several of the parks based at old military forts.
This was only the second time, the first many years ago.. I prefer the ones where the water is more accessible, like Carkeek or Golden Gardens, but it was nice to visit.
Nice to see such a pretty sky!
Thank you!
Definite signs of spring here š And it’s good to see a city taking the provision of parks seriously. Love the cute dogs!
Yes, spring is in the air! šæšø And Seattle has many wonderful parks!
Hi Susanne
We have spring here as well on the other side of the ocean in East Anglia. Frost in the early morning and the sunshine from morning to evening. We love it
The Fab Four of Cley
š š š š
Sounds wonderful. We are cold and rainy here today in the Pacific NW!
A lovely walk in the park indeed, Susanne. We have enjoyed some unusually good weather this week, with highs of 19C and blue skies. We are going to Turkey next week for 7 days, and it won’t be much warmer there.
Best wishes, Pete.
Happy to hear you’re enjoying good weather. We’re cold and rainy here today. And Turkey sounds so exotic! Enjoy your birthday trip!
Thanks, Susanne. Turkey is okay, though quite ‘touristy’. I have been a few times before, but not to Kusudasi. So it will be a new place to see.
*Kusadasi. Typo.
Still sounds exotic to me! And it’s always nice to visit someplace new. š
Caught up with you again! It’s easy to lose track on WordPress, isn’t it? It looks a pleasant enough walk and there’s obviously lots more to see. I’ll come back for that xx
Thanks so much for stopping by!! I’ll have to remember to link up to your walks now and then! š
No worries! I’ve included this one tomorrow already xx
Wonderful! thank you! š
Discovery Park was one of my favorite places to visit when I loved in Seattle! And yes, the parking permit allows you to park much closer to the beach. Highly recommended! I hope you have a wonderful visit next time. āŗļø
Thanks so much for your comment. š We usually go to Lincoln Park or Seward Park, so are much less familar with Discovery Park! We’ll have to return and explore some more!
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