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Volunteer Park Via Washington Park Arboretum & Interlaken Park: Seattle Urban Hike With Dogs

4/25/2014

13 Comments

 
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Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley with Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi at Seattle's Volunteer Park (Volunteer Reservoir and the Space Needle in the background.)
Typist: Bethany
Variety is always what the dogs and I are after in any adventure we embark on. So yesterday we set out on a dog friendly Seattle urban hike that began at the Washington Park Arboretum, through the trails of Interlaken and Louisa Boren Parks to Volunteer Park and back again. Our entire hike was less than six miles but we walked on every type of terrain and had incredible diversity in scenery.

Our fit dog journey began at the Washington Park Arboretum which is, despite my hometown bias, one of the loveliest arboretums I have ever visited. Plus our arboretum allows leashed dogs on all of the outdoor trails with the exception of the Japanese Garden. The landscape design is meticulously set to make hikers feel as if they are trekking through a natural habitat. Most of the trails are gravel, dirt and grass but there is a closed to the public road that can be safely traveled by arboretum visitors on two or four feet as well.
From the Washington Park Arboretum we traveled up and West via East Interlaken Boulevard. The first part we hiked on this quiet, narrow road is open to traffic but because it is a thin, neighborhood street, cars go slow enough to make it safe and pleasant for humans and canines.
Once across 24th Avenue East (we crossed at the light at Boyer Avenue East) just on more block of our hike on Interlaken Boulevard was shared with cars before we entered Interlaken Park. I simply love this beautiful pacific Northwest forest preserve! It is easy to forget that this park is in the middle of a large, bustling city when wandering its lush green trails. Sadly, this Interlaken Park is notorious for illegally unleashed dogs so I rarely visit it. And even though we saw very little urban trash on our hike, we saw a disturbing amount of left behind dog poop. What a shame that all that bacteria was left to seep into the soil above a restored stream.
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Irresponsible pet owners with illegally off leash dogs and negligent of scooping poop spoil efforts to restore the native forest and stream at Interlaken Park.
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We turned off the main paved trail of Interlaken Park onto the dirt trail of Louisa Boren Park. This trail was surprisingly muddy and unkempt. Towards the top I felt like perhaps we had taken a wrong turn. Well, we sort of did. Apparently we hiked up a closed trail! There was no notice or blockage of the trails condition at the bottom where we started. There was, however, a very official "Trail Is Closed" sign at the top! That post was, of course, too late to save the dogs and I from the strenuous hike we had through deep mud, downed trees and narrow, overgrown with prickly bushes trail but as I laughed about it I was also very proud of us for making it up! So we rested and enjoyed the view. And what a view! The Louisa Boren Park lookout has a stunning view of Lake Washington. I was glad, despite the unkempt (er, closed) trail, that we had visited this park on our Capitol Hill urban hike.
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Oops! In our defense there was another person coming down as we started up.
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The lush greenery at the bottom of the (closed) Louisa Boren Park trail between Interlaken Park and the Louisa Boren Park scenic viewpoint.
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At Lake Washington, Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle.
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Above Lake Washington, Louisa Boren Park scenic viewpoint, Seattle.
At Louisa Boren Park lookout, we were just one block from the last park on our urban hike, Volunteer Park. We were treated to another assortment of scenery. This park is very manicured and was carefully designed for the heavy use of the dense Capitol Hill neighborhood surrounding it. Maybe it is because of the lawns, the reservoir, the stage, the conservatory and the art museum in Volunteer Park, but I consider it the Seattle equivalent of New York's Central Park. While Volunteer Park is much smaller than Manhattan's massive green space, Seattle's version has a similar mixed use and historic feel. The dogs and I circled the park, stopped for water and pictures and enjoyed the breeze and the scenery. I highly recommend visitors to Seattle (and even residents of the city) take some time to visit leashed dog friendly Volunteer Park without dogs (there are lots of doggy day care options in the Capitol Hill neighborhood) so you can tour the indoor parts of the park that dogs are not allowed: the Asian Art Museum, water tower and conservatory.
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The historic Volunteer Park Water Tower, Capitol Hill, Seattle, Washington.
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Statue of William H. Seward in front of the Volunteer Park Conservatory.
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The outside of the Volunteer Park conservatory in bloom.
For Wilhelm, Brychwyn, Huxley and I, yesterdays Volunteer Park visit was all about enjoying a dog friendly urban hike in the unexpected Seattle sunshine. We left Volunteer Park and followed East Galer Street back to Interlaken Park. This trail back down into the ravine was definitely open and well kept yet it was still as if we had dove off of a city sidewalk into a mossy wonderland. The dogs loved sniffing the unfurling ferns, old growth trees blooming bleeding hearts and salmon berries bushes throughout Interlaken Park. I loved the smell of the fresh, forest air.
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Diving back into the forest of Interlaken Park.
We turned off the dirt trail back onto the paved closed road that eventually lead us out of the park to again share East Interlaken Boulevard with cars. Our urban hike ended back down the hill when we returned to the Washington Park Arboretum. We had truly enjoyed a variety of sights, sounds and smells. This wonderful urban hike had also offered wonderfully diverse terrain. I think it's clear that the dogs appreciated the fit dog time and if they're happy, I'm happy.
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Gravel trails.
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Grass trails.
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Paved trails.
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Dirt trails.
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Petal trails.
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Azalea Way at the Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle.
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The end.
A to Z Challenge: Yesterday was Under: A Search For The Best Cat Food Under The Sun Became #WeruvaPets Dog Food, tomorrow is W for Wilhelm: The Most Wonderful Weiner Dog.
We hope our FitDog Variety Pack's varied adventure inspires you to get out for some fit dog time with your dog(s.) You are sure to get more inspirations and learn about dog fitness and exercise when clicking around the links below. Enjoy!
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13 Comments
Reilly & Denny link
4/24/2014 09:57:44 pm

What beautiful photos - that glass house reminds me of the one in San Francisco. Don't you love when spring arrives and everything is blooming again

Reply
Bethany
4/25/2014 05:06:00 am

The Volunteer Park conservatory is like a miniature version of the one in San Francisco. I do love all of the extra green plus the bonus colors we get in the Evergreen state in spring!

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Molly The Wally link
4/24/2014 10:11:38 pm

What nice contrasts between the different parks and lovely views. Pity about the naughty owners who don't puck up. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly

Reply
Bethany
4/25/2014 05:08:16 am

I still can't believe we saw so much variety in such a short hike. Seattle is supposedly a very environmentally conscious city so hopefully dog owners will one day catch on to how important leash laws and scooping poop is for the environment!

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Lisa
4/25/2014 03:37:04 am

What a lovely walk!
You are absolutely correct that there is a connection between Volunteer Park and Central Park. Both had the same designer, Fredrick Law Olmsted. You probably also notice a similarity with the park system in Buffalo. He would be a very happy "LArch" to know that you saw his hand in both.

Reply
Bethany
4/25/2014 05:22:08 am

I knew it! I kept seeing the Olmsted name when I was researching this post last night (I wanted to link to the water tower Olmsted museum in the post but there is no official page) and I considered looking up if he had also designed Central Park. I had no idea he had designed some of my favorite Buffalo area parks too- Riverside Park and, of course, Niagara Falls State Park: http://www.cascadiannomads.com/1/post/2013/07/niagara-part-2.html Thank you so much for your comment!

Reply
SlimDoggy link
4/25/2014 04:05:17 am

What a great V post. You surely do have some variety, but I think my favorite is the petal trail! Good job on hiking up the closed trail too. Thanks for joining the Hop.

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Bethany
4/25/2014 05:19:15 am

Thanks SlimDoggy! I wouldn't recommend a closed trail as regular exercise but it was a good workout (or maybe my elevated heart rate was from the worry that we had certainly taken a wrong turn...)

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Emma link
4/25/2014 06:00:57 am

Great place it looks like! My mom is notorious for going on closed trails and trampling through all the mess. Looks like everyone had a blast and a nice nap after!

Reply
Bethany
4/25/2014 12:52:06 pm

This closed trail was a mess and then a bit narrow along a VERY steep, bramble covered hill. It wasn't so bad considering my last accidental closed trail trek got us lost and we ended up popping out of the forest into a private neighborhood (the people we're very nice about letting the dogs and I hike out on their private road.) I have always thought your mom and I should go for a hike together sometime, Emma, but it sounds like the two of us would be too much for you six dogs to deal with!

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Dolly the Doxie link
4/25/2014 12:39:01 pm

Not surprised to see you guys all wiped out! That was quite a hike, beautiful pictures too! Love Dolly

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Bethany
4/25/2014 12:54:07 pm

Thank you, Dolly. It was amazing how much we saw in such a short hike! It was enough fit dog time to tire everyone out and that's what matters most.

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Kimberly Gauthier link
4/25/2014 03:23:16 pm

Even though I live here, I'm blown away every day of the beautiful of our State. Your dogs are so well behaved.

Thanks for taking us on this beautiful tour. Hope you have a lovely weekend.

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