03-16-25
The
rain stopped for a while and I
did not feel like another drive east for a forest hike. I recalled an
urban hike I did twice during the pandemic shutdown in 2020. A ten
minute drive to the trailhead sounded good too. It was already 9:45 am
when I packed up and headed out. Llandover Woods is a wooded gully that
was turned into a forest park. It is located right at the northern city
limits of Seattle. I arrived at 9:58 am and was on the trail at 10:02
am. It was a balmy 38F. There are two routes that meet part way down
and the trail ends at a dead end street. It is a long dead end street.
I took the longer South Loop Trail.
There are few cars on it making it excellent for walking. With a creek
on one side and a few scattered homes it is very green. I passed a side
trip to a view of the water and continued on. After losing
250'
at the start the route goes up and down gaining back 150'. This means
the end of the trip is mostly uphill. At 137th St I met the first side
road that connects to the city grid. Now there were a few cars present.
I passed a road heading down to the west. That would be on my route on
the way back.
At 125th I left 8th Ave NW and went west to 12th NW. This road dead ends at the edge of Carkeek Park. Along the way I stopped often to photograph more early blooming flowers. The many gardens were only partly blooming this early in the year but the total display was very colorful. There were lots of daffodils but also a few tulips, camellias, rhododendrons, crocuses, flowering cherries, and more. At NW 118th St. I turned right on a loop. There is a really nice garden with flowers I see in the mountains east of the Cascade Crest. They are not blooming yet. I did see the rubbery leaves of some stonecrop though. At NW 117th St. I found the narrow path between houses that leads into Carkeek Park. On my two previous trips, I took the shortest route down to the meadow. This time I turned right at the first junction and headed uphill. This took me over to a viewpoint above the water. Trees have grown up to where the view is fairly small. From there I headed downhill to the meadow.
There are picnic tables and lots of grass in the meadow. There were also lots of people on this cloudy cool day. Next, I went over to the bridge over the railroad tracks. There are a few steps up and a lot more dropping down to the beach. The Olympic Mountains were lost in clouds but I could see ferry boats on the Edmonds - Kingston route. A freight train also passed by. It had about 140 train cars. Then an Amtrak train went by. Soon It was time to head back. I headed back the way I came. I took a different trail uphill and noticed a trail that seemed to just come to an end. I took it and it ended in a grassy spot out of the trees with a memorial bench. It was the backyard of a house. I could not see a way through to the road so I went back to the trail to NW 117th St. I headed back along 12th NW. Rather than retrace my route on 12th, I headed up to 8th NW. This gave me a chance to pass my more gardens. I did see some different flowers on this section. A big camellia bush was loaded with flowers. I also saw a big blooming flowering cherry tree.
At 125th St I was back on my route to morning route to Carkeek Park. I soon passed over a bridge and took the left turn just beyond. This road switchbacks down 250' in about .60 miles. This gave me a little more mileage and elevation gain. The road ends at private driveways with a little view out to Puget Sound. The train tracks are just below. Then it was time to climb back up. Back on 8th St NW I continued north. At 137th the long dead end street began. Homes are few and far removed from the road. Most are up or down long dead end streets or driveways. An Airporter van and a rental car passed by but that was it. The last side street drops down to near the water. I took this one.
The road has some really tall rhododendrons along the way. I expected it to be too early for flowers. There were lots of buds on them but most were still a week or two from blooming. I did find some flowers in full bloom. Mission accomplished. I had a bit of a view of the water, homes, a freighter on the Sound, and the trail tracks. On the way back I saw some really nicely colored camellia blooms. On the last part of the main road I took a side trail down the creek. I saw some purple flowers in bloom too. After that I was quickly back to Llandover Woods. This time I took the shorter route up to the trailhead. At 1:15 pm I was back at my car. It was nice to end a hike and have only a ten minute drive home.
I set out for a really close to home hike from one city part to another. I had forest, beach on Puget Sound, and far more blooming flowers than I expected. The rain held off all day. Even with a late start I was still home by 1:30 pm. I do not include stats in my hiking log for in city hikes. Still, I did hike 8 miles with 1300' of elevation gain. It was a nice break from normal trails.
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Trips - 2025
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At 125th I left 8th Ave NW and went west to 12th NW. This road dead ends at the edge of Carkeek Park. Along the way I stopped often to photograph more early blooming flowers. The many gardens were only partly blooming this early in the year but the total display was very colorful. There were lots of daffodils but also a few tulips, camellias, rhododendrons, crocuses, flowering cherries, and more. At NW 118th St. I turned right on a loop. There is a really nice garden with flowers I see in the mountains east of the Cascade Crest. They are not blooming yet. I did see the rubbery leaves of some stonecrop though. At NW 117th St. I found the narrow path between houses that leads into Carkeek Park. On my two previous trips, I took the shortest route down to the meadow. This time I turned right at the first junction and headed uphill. This took me over to a viewpoint above the water. Trees have grown up to where the view is fairly small. From there I headed downhill to the meadow.
There are picnic tables and lots of grass in the meadow. There were also lots of people on this cloudy cool day. Next, I went over to the bridge over the railroad tracks. There are a few steps up and a lot more dropping down to the beach. The Olympic Mountains were lost in clouds but I could see ferry boats on the Edmonds - Kingston route. A freight train also passed by. It had about 140 train cars. Then an Amtrak train went by. Soon It was time to head back. I headed back the way I came. I took a different trail uphill and noticed a trail that seemed to just come to an end. I took it and it ended in a grassy spot out of the trees with a memorial bench. It was the backyard of a house. I could not see a way through to the road so I went back to the trail to NW 117th St. I headed back along 12th NW. Rather than retrace my route on 12th, I headed up to 8th NW. This gave me a chance to pass my more gardens. I did see some different flowers on this section. A big camellia bush was loaded with flowers. I also saw a big blooming flowering cherry tree.
At 125th St I was back on my route to morning route to Carkeek Park. I soon passed over a bridge and took the left turn just beyond. This road switchbacks down 250' in about .60 miles. This gave me a little more mileage and elevation gain. The road ends at private driveways with a little view out to Puget Sound. The train tracks are just below. Then it was time to climb back up. Back on 8th St NW I continued north. At 137th the long dead end street began. Homes are few and far removed from the road. Most are up or down long dead end streets or driveways. An Airporter van and a rental car passed by but that was it. The last side street drops down to near the water. I took this one.
The road has some really tall rhododendrons along the way. I expected it to be too early for flowers. There were lots of buds on them but most were still a week or two from blooming. I did find some flowers in full bloom. Mission accomplished. I had a bit of a view of the water, homes, a freighter on the Sound, and the trail tracks. On the way back I saw some really nicely colored camellia blooms. On the last part of the main road I took a side trail down the creek. I saw some purple flowers in bloom too. After that I was quickly back to Llandover Woods. This time I took the shorter route up to the trailhead. At 1:15 pm I was back at my car. It was nice to end a hike and have only a ten minute drive home.
I set out for a really close to home hike from one city part to another. I had forest, beach on Puget Sound, and far more blooming flowers than I expected. The rain held off all day. Even with a late start I was still home by 1:30 pm. I do not include stats in my hiking log for in city hikes. Still, I did hike 8 miles with 1300' of elevation gain. It was a nice break from normal trails.
 Llandover Woods Trail |
 Raindrops On Flowers |
 Crocuses |
 Bright Colors |
 Booming Daffodils |
 Very Good Colors |
 White Flowers |
 Trees Were Blooming |
 Carkeek Park |
 At The Beach |
 Amtrak Train |
 Bright White Flowers |
 Very Distinctive |
 Colorful Rhododendron |
 Tulip |
 Red Camellia |
 Flowering Cherries |
 Red Berries |
 More Red |
 Some Yellow |
 A Nice Bouquet |
 Ship On Puget Sound |
 Blooming Rhodies |
 Pink & White Camellia |
 Hiking Dead End Road |
 Fern Covered Tree |
 Purple Flower |
 Back At Llandover |
Trips - 2025
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