Lakes you can walk around? (Seattle, Bellevue: homes, live, garden)

[AddyLaddy]

Hi, I was wondering if there are any lakes in the Greater Seattle area that you can actually walk around? (Apart from Green Lake - which is very nice).

We live out on the Eastside and I would like to take the children for nice, gentle walks (without large elevation gains) and back home lakes/reservoirs usually provided such recreational opportunities. Unfortunately, the lake shores here seem to be all gobbled by the $1M properties!

So are there any lakes with trails or nature paths around them ?

[tobester]

Not on the Eastside and not technically "around a lake", but Seward Park has a wonderful 2.4 mile perfectly flat paved walking path around the park that fronts Lake Washington the entire distance. You might have to see blue herons, bald eagles, owls, otters, bats, raccoons, wild parakeets and other wildlife along the way though. And, for further adventure, there are beautiful paths through the last old growth forest in Seattle.

[Hemlock140]

The eastside lakes are pretty much developed and privately owned. You can walk 10 miles along the side of Lake Sammamish, from Redmond to Issaquah, with some nice views but also looking into peoples yards.
You can walk around Yellow lake in the Klahanie area of Issaquah on the plateau, it's pretty level but is also small so not more than about 1/2 hour.
There you will between the homes and the lakes

If you like woods with wetlands and wildlife, look at Soaring Eagle park in Sammamish, and the Redmond Watershed Preserve.

[imaginaryplaces]

Not sure about where on the Eastside you are, but in Bellevue here are some gentle walks:
- Mercer Slough has two connected approximately one mile loops, very level.
- Lake Hills Greenbelt - you can walk around the Blueberry Farm and Larsen Lake and then through the greenbelt down to Phantom Lake
- Robinswood Park has a very small pond with ducks (especially winter/spring) and some very short trails through woods.
- Kelsey Creek Park has a near-level 1-mile loop around the barn - you can check out the farm animals.
- Bellevue Botanic Garden has a nice gentle nature trail which they are in the process of expanding.

Also check out Marymoor Park on Lake Sammamish in Redmond and the UW Arboretum in Seattle.

And I strongly second tobester's Seward Park recommendation.

[AddyLaddy]

Great thanks for the tips everyone, we'll try and check out some of those suggestions.

We live out in Sammamish, so places off the I-90 corridor are good for us, I guess we could try and walk around Rattlesnake lake too. Are there any other similar lakes which have an accessible shoreline?

[happyhunting]

We drive to Seward Park and walk through the forested trails, then along Lake Washington. It's a beautiful walk. We've found it to be much less crowded than Green Lake.