Great day hikes in the area?

[burgerbun]

There are also trails in Lincoln Park in West Seattle that aren't too strenuous.

I love the park system in Seattle.

[sean98125]

Twin Falls

Umtanum Creek Falls

Snoquera Falls Loop

Ancient Lakes

Palouse Falls

Marymere Falls and Barnes Creek

Sol Duc Falls

[Kayela]

Denny Creek! It's a fantastic hike to take with kids.

For historical interest, really good views, and not too steep - the Iron Goat trail is excellent. It's also wide enough to walk next to each other. It's getting a bit far for a day hike, but it's doable. Combining it with an overnight stay in Leavenworth is a very fun weekend.

[westcoastbestcoast]

Oh wow, awesome! Thanks everyone, I can't wait to check all of these places out

[Blondebaerde]

No one has yet mentioned my favorite 'method' of either creating, or downloading other's hikes: Garmin myConnect.

I have a Garmin 310XT, for hiking, running, walking, and my bicycle. New to me early 2011 but introduced c. 2009. Still available, per Garmin website, though the 910XT appears to be the next generation with more cool stuff. At much greater cost, being new. 310XT is less expensive, as they sunset the product.

I'm a Garmin fan, since buying one of the earlier handhelds in 2004 for half-marathon training (model 301, I think). It was absolutely, positively necessary and useful to me for that purpose, since I was setting specific goals for both time and distance. These days, the devices connect wirelessly to various devices and continue to do more, better. The myConnect site is free and saves all your event data.

myConnect has dozens or hundreds of urban walks, runs, bike rides, etc. created by users in the Seattle metro area (and elsewhere). I have downloaded many directly from the site to my device, and hiked or run them per the device's navigation, based on my specific needs.

Examples of Seattle metro urban hikes:

- Incredible Mercer Island loop (8 miles) through some byways and alleys only a native would know.
- 11 miler circling Seattle, starting and ending on Capital Hill. Again, incredibly interesting byways through various parks, around UW and the waterways adjacent to 520, etc.
- More standard fare like loops up west and east side of Lake Washington, Lake Union, slough trails, etc.

On and on. Point being, nothing I couldn't have theoretically found by myself, but since others have done the work...

...and I log my own hikes and runs, too, in case other users on myConnect may find the information useful.

[westcoastbestcoast]

Thanks all! My husband was just talking about getting a Garmin, we'd like to start Geocaching with the kids as well! We just hiked around Discovery Park this weekend, in the rain, lol, and we loved it! We can't wait to explore more areas around here. Thanks again for the great advice

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by westcoastbestcoast

Hello, we are settling in beautifully after relocating to Ballard in August and we are itching to get outside and hike around the area. We are a family of four with two boys ages 9 and 7-so beginning/easy hikes would be a great start. Thanks for any recommendations!

Join the Mountaineers. They probably have hikes specifically for families with smaller kids.

[Harrier]

If you don't mind trekking down to Des Moines, there are some interesting trails inside Saltwater State Park.

The Barnes Creek Trail starts near Kent-Des Moines Road and 15th Ave. S.

While primarily a bike trail, the Des Moines Creek Trail runs from the Des Moines Marina to S. 200th St, and there are dirt trails off of the main drag, which you can take to explore old house foundations that once supported homes before the Port bought the property, all while several thousands of tons of aluminum pass over your head.

[Harrier]

This is a good resource for finding local trails.

Kissing the Trail: Greater Seattle Mountain Bike Adventures: John Zilly: 9781881583097: Amazon.com: Books