Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks has created two self-guided tours to let you explore historical parks at your own pace. We look forward to developing more in the future!
Interlaken Park
Start the tour in the grassy area immediately north of the intersection of 19th Ave E and E Galer Street, by the entrance to Interlaken Drive.
This walk will take you down a wooded trail through Interlaken Park to reach Interlaken Blvd. The route then travels east along the boulevard to 24th Ave., then backtracks to follow the boulevard in the other direction, to Bagley Viewpoint near the park’s west end. From there, you will return along Interlaken and take Interlaken Drive back up the hill to the starting point. The tour includes 13 stops with historical information. The walk is about 3 miles long and may take roughly 2 hours to complete.
You can also learn more details about Interlaken Park’s history.
Seward Park
Your walk starts by the beach area, just west of the Clay Studio. Then proceed north along the west shoreline up to the north end of the park, where the Olmsteds proposed quite an interesting array of park features. From there, head back south through the middle of the forest on the Skebexced Trail, then turning onto the Lost Lake trail to eventually reach the Audubon Center, then the tennis court area, and finally to the inner turn-around to the Japanese Lantern and Torii Gate.
You can also learn more details about Seward Park’s history.