One of my favorite walks due to the trees, tumbling creek and closeness to home.  From the Eddie McAbee entrance its about one mile to the picnic area with minor elevation loss. 

The trail drops to Pipers Creek and then follows it to the picnic area passing the View Lands trail and near the end the water treatment plant.

Today had sun streaming through trees, people walking dogs and children and a hint of spring in the air.

This is a nice sojourn with nature and worth frequent trips to get a sense of nature, in the city.

I tried to start this hike, but the smell from the water treatment plant was so extreme and persistent that I gave up after about 10 minutes. (It was a rainy day, but didn’t seem to be raining an emergency overflow amount.)

As an alternative, I drove to the upper parking area and had a lovely short hike along the North Bluff Trail and adjoining trails. Then I went down to the beach, where the sewage smell was only intermittent and was thankfully overpowered by the herby aroma being shared by the young people down at the distant end of the beach. Hooray for urban incense! 😆💚

After hearing about the record salmon runs this year, some friends and I went to see if we could still see some fish swimming upstream this late in the season.

Our first encounter with the salmon was not for the faint of heart; the creek near the official Chum Salmon Viewing Area on Google maps was lined with dead fish. The smell was so strong we had to distance ourselves from the stream. May those inspiring little beings rest in peace.

Next, we headed down to the beach, where we were fortunate enough to see about 6 living salmon where the mouth of the stream meets the Sound. It’s amazing to see them muscle their way against the current.

The trails we walked upon were in good condition, though admittedly we mostly walked on the road to avoid the pungent fish.

I’m incredibly grateful to be able to see salmon swim so close to home at this urban gem!

On Sunday, November 10th, my family and I followed the WTA hiking guide to explore Carkeek Park in Seattle. We were captivated by the sight of salmon making their way up several creeks within the park, a testament to the effort by dedicated people to restore salmon habitat.

Starting from the Eddie McAbee Entrance, we followed the well-maintained Piper's Creek Trail. The trail offers a gentle descent, accompanied by the peaceful sounds of the creek. At 0.5 mile from the trailhead, we passed through Piper's Orchard. There were a lot of apples on the ground along the trail opposite of the orchard. I didn’t know why they were discarded like that.

After a short climb on the Fern Glen Trail, we reached the Nancy Malmgren Environmental Learning Center, now utilized by Seattle Public Schools as a preschool. We then ventured up the Education Center Trail to NW 116th Street before returning to the main path.

A highlight of the hike was witnessing the salmon run in Venema Creek. It was fascinating to observe these determined fish making their way upstream to their spawning grounds.

We continued our journey, ascending to North Meadow, a serene space bordering a private residence. It must be nice to have a backyard like that. After a short break to take off our outer layer and replenish our water supply, we descended the North Bluff Trail down to the picnic area. The big maple tree in the picnic area was glowing with red leaves.

We walked on the bridge over the railroad tracks to get to the beach, where families were enjoying the coastal scenery. We crossed the bridge back to the park and took the stairs down toward the fence. We crossed the bridge over Piper's Creek, where volunteers were educating visitors about the salmon run.

We continued on the Wetland Trail and walking around a grassy field, and climbed steeply up the South Bluff Trail. The South Ridge Trail led us back to the Piper's Creek Trail, eventually bringing us back to our starting point at Eddie McAbee Entrance.

Our GPS track is in the link below.

Stats:
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 690ft
Highest Point: 270 ft (The trailhead)
Total Time: 2h 32m
Moving Time: 2h 10m

Quick walk around the Carkeek park trails Sunday morning before the rain was supposed to show up.  Parking is free and relatively plentiful.  The main restrooms by the play area were open and fully functional.  We did a counter clockwise loop around the perimeter with side trips down to the beach and Piper’s Creek to see if the salmon had showed up yet.  Trails were in good shape generally though there were several brand new blow down, likely from last night’s blustery weather, and some muddy/sloppy sections but nothing difficult to walk over/through.  

The big news is that the salmon did not disappoint.  There were a number, (maybe a dozen?) up in Piper’s Creek by the beaver dam plus a bunch more queued up out in Puget Sound and struggling up the beach bit before going through the culvert under the railroad tracks.  It’s maybe a bit harder to see them this year because there is more water in the creek, but probably will likely help the fish.  Seattle parks has made some slots in the beaver dam since last year which hopefully will allow some to make it through though I didn’t see any upstream from the dam yet.  A nice little forest walk with beach views and for a little while, lots of spawning salmon.  

Link to further info about the park - https://seattle.gov/parks/allparks/carkeek-park