Discover waterfront trails, skyline views, and mountain escapes—no car necessary.
Seattleites won the lottery in the location department. The Emerald City is almost fully surrounded by outdoor playgrounds, including three national parks and two national forests.
The only downside? The notorious traffic hassles required to reach any of them. But luckily, hiking trails abound much closer to home. Double luckily, you don’t even need to worry about road congestion: All of the trips below can be accessed via public transportation. Less driving, more hiking—and more fun. Here’s your itinerary for the ideal three-day Seattle hiking weekend.
Friday Seattle Itinerary
10 a.m.: Discovery Park, one of the city’s premier green spaces, sits on a bluff in the Magnolia neighborhood. It encompasses 534 acres of Puget Sound beachfront and thick forests. Sample the goods on the 2.8-mile Loop Trail, which winds through shady woods and sandy blufftops with views of the Olympic Peninsula. Make sure to take the short spur down to South Beach to stick a toe in the sound.
With luck, you’ll get a low tide and a much larger beach to explore; however, even at the highest tide, there’s plenty of room to stroll.
12 p.m.: Choose your own adventure at the hot bar at Metropolitan Market. This upscale grocery store is full of fresh, fancy food.
1 p.m.: Get out for a truly urban hike on the Chesiahud Lake Union Loop, a 6-mile, multi-use path that circles Lake Union. Start at Lake Union Park and stroll clockwise over the Fremont Bridge to Gas Works Park, a large refuge with city views. Continue around to University Bridge and swing south to trace the lakeshore back.
4-5 p.m.: Check in to the Moxy Seattle Downtown, where a giant wooden bear sculpture greets you at the lobby fireplace, the wood-meets-plaid décor lends a mountain lodge vibe, and landscape-printed pillows and tree stump side tables adorn guest rooms. (Despite the name, the Moxy is actually in the South Lake Union neighborhood north of downtown, but public transit access is still easy.)
6 p.m.: Head north to trendy Ballard for window shopping, people watching, and dinner at Trailbend Taproom. Specialties: pizza, loaded salads, 37 rotating taps, and a suite of cocktails.
Saturday Seattle Itinerary
8 a.m.: Pop into local breakfast institution Portage Bay Café for eggs, grain bowls, and a top-your-own French toast bar.
10 a.m.: The “Issaquah Alps” cradle the suburb of Issaquah, a series of foothills or small mountains (depending on who you ask) that draw Seattle hikers in search of a great trail without a long drive.
Cougar Mountain and Squak Mountain have their charms, but we especially love Poo Poo Point on the west side of Tiger Mountain. Yes, that’s really its name, and it refers to the toot of the steam whistles in this area during the logging era. This 7.2-mile round trip gains almost 2,000 feet en route to a bare knoll with views of Lake Sammamish and downtown Seattle. Keep an eye out for paragliders, who often launch from here.
6 p.m.: Get a side of panoramic views with your Dungeness crab hot dog at The Mountaineering Club on the 16th floor of the Graduate Hotel in the University District neighborhood. Grab a table on the patio if it’s nice out, or a cozy couch seat if it’s not. Even if you can’t make it to go hiking in Mount Rainier National Park, the vistas from your table include everything from the park to the Cascades to Puget Sound—and they’re worth lingering over (along with the martinis).
Sunday Seattle Itinerary
8 a.m.: Head up to Capitol Hill for a breakfast at Basecamp Café. Baristas are slinging espresso drinks, breakfast burritos, and egg sandwiches. Their on-site partner business, Gearhouse, runs a gear library with rentals for all manners and all seasons of outdoor pursuits.
10 a.m.: Bridle Trails State Park, just across Lake Washington in Kirkland, is a hidden gem for urban hikers. It has 28 miles of trails in a quiet Douglas fir-western hemlock forest. Hiking the 3.5-mile Coyote Trail around the perimeter is a great introduction to the ecosystem that once covered this entire area. Add on the 1.7-mile Trillium Trail or the 1-mile Raven Trail, both loops, if you’re hungry for more.
2 p.m.: Journey clear across town for a late lunch at The Camp West. It’s known as the place “Where Adults Go to Camp” in the funky neighborhood of West Seattle. This risotto-and-burger place goes all in on the camping theme. Walls are adorned with axes, Smokey the Bear memorabilia scattered throughout, and even a photo of Eddie Vedder camping. There’s also a campsite mural by a local artist as well as a Boy Scout dummy chilling in a hammock. The charcuterie board comes in a fishing tackle box. You can roast s’mores on a tabletop stove. Even the cocktails have names like Musk of Sasquatch (rye and mezcal) and Glamping Enthusiast (vodka and lychee liqueur).
3:30 p.m.: Finish off your Seattle hike-a-thon with a 2.2-mile walk on the paved Alki Trail. This waterfront path traces the Alki beaches and loops around Duwamish Head for fantastic views of the city skyline. Take the Route 50 bus to Alki Beach Park, then hike northeast along the sand. You’ll catch views of the Olympic Mountains as you go. Check out the Alki Beach Pier as you round the peninsula’s tip. Catch a ride back to the city center via the coolest transport possible: the West Seattle Water Taxi. This passenger-only boat departs hourly from the pier right off the trail.
Seen in: Hiking, Travel, Washington
