Walked the Cheshiahud Loop trail Sunday morning. We did it counter clock wise starting at Gas Works park. Mileage ended up at 6.5 with virtually no gross vertical. Parking there is free though can fill up on a sunny day. Full restrooms were open, no other facilities available along the entire route unless you can sneak into the MOHAI building at the south end of the lake when it’s open. The trail remains a combination of paved dedicated pedestrian and sidewalk sections with signage at most turning points, (distinctive thin blue placard on red poles.) No specific trail issues or blocking issues today however most of the south lake union park and several of the little pocket parks along the route are closed/fenced/under construction currently which makes the route a bit less scenic currently and one of the sections that was out on pilings has been detoured to the land sidewalk due to partial collapse. With all the World Cup hubbub quickly approaching it seems like an odd time to have all this torn up and closed… On a more positive note, one of the pocket parks, Good Turn park, along the NE area of Lake Union has been completely redone and is really nice now.
Most of the wildlife out today was of the human nature - lots of joggers, ebikers, boats, float planes, folks doing tai chi, etc but there were a few cormorants, a few ducks and some Canadian geese plus the folks that had the fake crocodiles in the water next to one of the shipyards now appear to have swapped them out for alligators (love those goofy things.) Also don’t miss the last section of the old historical interurban tracks just south of Fremont Bridge which appear to have been brushed back and are more visible which I guess makes at least part of the trail an official rail-to-trail for folks interested in that movement. There was quite a bit of activity at the Center for Wooden boats as well. A super nice urban walk with a bunch to see.
Link to further information about the abandoned historical interurban line - https://www.historylink.org/File/5341
Link to further information about the trail’s namesake - http://www.lakeunionhistory.org/Cheshiahud,_Duwamish_Tribe_on_Lake_Union.html
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