Carkeek Park: A Must-See for Seattleites

Ah, Carkeek Park, next to the Carkeek Creek (actually named Piper's Creek, but that doesn't sound as cool), home to one of Seattle's more popular parks and trail systems. On one fine and sunny morning, TrailsBro and Co. headed here to pick up the trash that we all believed would be strewn along the trails. However, much to our surprise and pleasure, the amount of trash that we collected was limited to only two bags. It seems to be that Seattleites are more conscientious of their impact on the environment, or perhaps the higher population meant that there were already people that had collected garbage prior to us. 

How to Deal with Needles

One discarded item that some of our members found and that we are cautioning people to look out for is used needles. Seattle has a large homeless population and some of those people are known for being drug addicts. When you spot an unsheathed needle, never touch it, even if it is interfering the aesthetics of the surrounding nature. Handling used needles should be left up to the professionals and we wouldn't want any of our followers to contract some blood-borne disease by accident while serving their community. 

A Hike, Derailed

The trash that we encountered was centered around one of the main trails that gets a lot of traffic from dog walkers, runners, and hikers such as ourselves. But upon traveling to the lesser-known parts of the park, we encountered less trash and better views. Carkeek Park is right on the oceanfront with great beach access. One of the cooler experiences was standing on some outstretched roots of a tree on the edge of a cliff and gazing out over the massive expanse of water that is the Puget Sound. We also came across a tree that had grown in such a manner as to allow passers-by to stretch their hands through the trunk of the tree. If you are looking for a cool hike with somewhat minimal difficulty but which also has stunning views, we would certainly recommend exploring the park's other trails.

One of the other prominent features of Carkeek park is its beach. To enter the beach, visitors must travel over the train tracks in a covered pedestrian bridge. The edges of the chain-link fence held many locks of those in relationships that had locked their padlock and tossed their keys onto the tracks below or into the sea to signify their commitment to each other. It made for an interesting and colorful reminder that people are more adept at finding love than most of our members and that while the emotional attachment is there, these locks are technically still garbage and are cluttering up the park. Please, we here at TrailsBro urge strongly against locking locks onto bridges and casting the key into the abyss no matter the emotional connections you might have. Unfortunately, we also found copious amounts of garbage on the train tracks as well. Since good Samaritans don't have a safe and legal way to pick up this trash, it means that it gets viewed by all of the people that pass over the bridge and are trying to enjoy their time at the beach yet can't because the garbage reminds them of how useless some members of our society are. We here at TrailsBro also urge strongly against throwing litter onto train tracks. Scratch that, we here at TrailsBro urge strongly against littering in any form, manner, or fashion. 

Despite our disgust at the trash, and disappointment that we couldn't retrieve it, we still very much enjoyed the beach and throwing stones into the expansive body of water. It was a good time for all of us to relax after carrying heavy bags through the trails. On a clear sunny day, the other side of the Sound can be seen; however, on good days there are sure to be many people coming to enjoy the park just as you probably would. Our recommendation is to go early in the morning if you dislike crowds, but be sure to bring a jacket as it can get rather cold in the early hours of the morning. 

Make sure to keep an eye out for the various types of flora and fauna that we encountered as well as many other interesting and majestic species.

Hidden Indie Gem

Overall, Carkeek Park is a gem in the middle of Seattle. While you might have trouble with traffic if you aren't a Seattle resident, the hikes and views are worth the wait, so to speak. Trash levels were lower than expected, and overall the experience of this park makes it worth a visit. If you've been here before, feel free to leave a comment of your thoughts on Carkeek Park!

We hope that you continue to follow us on the next hike!

Click here for more photos from this hike!