8 Secret Urban Hikes for Seattle-Area Kids and Families

I have always considered this park to be the most overlooked gem of the Seattle Parks system, so I was happy to see it getting use on the day we visited for a short hike. Lakeridge Park is a tucked-away, 35-acre wooded canyon in the Taylor Creek Watershed in the Rainier Beach/Lakeridge neighborhood of Seattle. The graveled trail is about a half-mile round trip along the west side of the canyon overlooking the creek below. The “dead horse” of the park’s name was the pet of local pioneer children a century ago.

We mothers and our preschool-age boys met several joggers and a family group with an infant as we walked the trail in and out. The trail ascends quickly into the wooded canyon, and soon you are looking across the ravine, feeling like you are at bird height. The drop-off can be intimidating, but the trail is wide and even, and our boys loved running across the well-fortified hand-railed wooden bridge that spanned a rougher terrain.

Find it: Lakeridge Park/Deadhorse Canyon does not have an exact address. The park trailhead is at a bend in the road where 68th Avenue South becomes Holyoke Avenue South. As you’re driving south on Rainier Avenue South, turn right on 68th Avenue South, and drive until you come to the bend in the road. There is a pull-out for three cars, a kiosk and a Seattle Parks sign. (You can also park on Rainier and walk up 68th Avenue South.)

Length of trail: Half-mile round trip.

Tips: On Rainier Avenue South, find a recently updated playground at Lakeridge Playfield.

Next hike: Mercerdale Hillside