Some of Seattle’s best walks hide in plain sight. Lincoln Park, in West Seattle’s Fauntleroy neighborhood, stretches across 135 acres where a tall forest meets the Puget Sound shoreline, and on a crisp fall day it feels like an escape to the islands without ever leaving the city.
Start under the big trees. Miles of soft forest trails wind past maples, firs and madronas, opening onto bluffs with views across the water toward Vashon Island and the Olympics. Then drop down to the paved shoreline walkway, where the beach runs for nearly a mile: driftwood, smooth stones, mountain views and, at low tide, plenty of tide-pool exploring for curious kids.
The park is built for lingering, too, with athletic fields, playgrounds, picnic shelters and wide lawns made for a thermos of something warm. In summer its famous Colman Pool — a heated saltwater pool right on the shore — steals the show; in autumn, the park belongs to walkers, birdwatchers and anyone who loves that quiet mix of forest shade and salt air.
Best of all, it is a Seattle Parks public park and free to enjoy, with parking off Fauntleroy Way SW and buses stopping nearby. If your Seattle list needs one peaceful, all-in-one place — woods, beach and big water in a single stroll — Lincoln Park is it.
Photo: Issara Willenskomer (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons
