Eating outdoors with your kids may be among one of the warm season's greatest pleasures. Whether you take a pack of hot dogs to a shelter at the beach or load a backpack full of sandwiches and hit the trail, picnics are a great way to get outside and commune with nature.
By Lilium Pierson | June 26, 2008
Take a Walk
Location: Riverfront Park, Sedro-Woolley.
Length: About a mile of grassy lawns and riverbank trails. Access the riverbank trails at the western end of the park fence.
Level of difficulty: Level-to-gentle, dirt/sand trails and grass.
By Cathy McDonald | May 26, 2005
Location: Mount Vernon.
Length: Over a mile of trails.
Level of difficulty: Level-to-moderately steep, dirt/gravel/bark trails (muddy after rains, although many trails have an absorbent top layer of bark).
By Cathy McDonald | April 14, 2005
Take a Walk
Location:
Everett.
Length:
About a half mile of trails, plus the beach.
Level of difficulty:
Level-to-moderately steep, dirt/gravel trails, flat boardwalks and beach.
By Cathy McDonald | March 24, 2005
The walk: Soak up big-sky views of South Puget Sound, lumbering freighters and Maury Island while you hobnob with friendly local fisherfolk during this amble along the waterfront in Des Moines, a community named by settlers who migrated in the late 1800s from Iowa's capital city.
By Brian J. Cantwell | July 8, 2004
The walk: Unless you live in Burien, it's mostly a place you'd zip past on the highway.
But it's worth detouring to the overlooked city of about 30,000 people tucked between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Puget Sound.
Burien has a beach-rich park; old-fashioned business district; and lots of taquerias, thanks to a growing number of Mexican-American residents, that offer low-cost and tasty meals that you can take out for park picnics.
This is a two-part walk, divided between the beach park and quaint shopping district.
By Kristin Jackson | July 8, 2004
The walk: Rainier Avenue South is not a great place to walk, with its buzz of traffic and string of gas stations and fast-food restaurants.
But get off the main drag in the Rainier Beach neighborhood in South Seattle, and you'll find a string of small parks to explore, each rich in local history and views.
The jewel in the area's green crown is Kubota Garden, a 20-acre hillside enclave of Japanese-inspired plantings and streams that's one of Seattle's loveliest and most overlooked parks.
By Kristin Jackson | March 4, 2004
Location: Mount Vernon.
Length: Several miles.
By Cathy McDonald | February 19, 2004
Location: Marysville, Snohomish County.
Length: About a mile loop.
Level of difficulty: Level dirt/gravel/grass trails (muddy on west side after rains).
By Cathy McDonald | January 22, 2004
The walk: Sound, city or mountain view? No need to choose. You can have it all on a breezy stroll along Magnolia Bluff.
Start your walk at Magnolia Park on Magnolia Boulevard West, four-tenths of a mile from the top of the Magnolia Bridge. (The street changes names from West Garfield to West Galer to Magnolia Boulevard.) Park the car and walk down the hill toward the picnic area for a dead-on view of Mount Rainier and a glimpse of the container ships, cruise liners, sailboats and ferries crossing Elliott Bay.
By Carol Pucci | October 23, 2003
