8 Secret Urban Hikes for Seattle-Area Kids and Families

O.O. Denny Park is a 46-acre greenspace that encompasses the Denny Creek Watershed in Kirkland, along Lake Washington, just down the road from the much-better-known Saint Edward State Park. It is managed by the City of Kirkland, with support in habitat restoration from the Finn Hill Alliance.

On a past visit, I had three preschoolers along on this approximately 1.5-mile loop hike, and they each urged the other on, competed for sticks and played king of the “mountain” (or stump, in our case). The trail was soft and dry where conifers covered, muddy where the maples had opened the canopy during the winter. Of all the hikes covered in this story, this is the most like a true mountain hike: the elevation gain is approaching 200 feet within the first mile, and the temperature changes throughout the hike felt like passing through different levels of a mountain environment.

Highlights of the hike are the 600-year-old fir tree nicknamed Sylvia, the biggest tree in King County (she sits directly beside the trail in all her gigantic glory), interpretive signage at the halfway mark that explains the restoration and history of the area, and the carefully placed wood pavers on the muddier sections of the trail (which the kids used for playing “hot lava”).

At the end of the hike we all enjoyed a lakeside picnic while the kids threw rocks in the lake and the grown-ups enjoyed the stunning view.

Find it: The park is on Holmes Point Drive along Lake Washington, with plenty of adjacent off-street parking and restrooms.

Length of trail: Approximately a 1.5-mile loop, with more than 150 feet in gradual elevation gain.

Tips: It is possible to extend your hike further, connecting with the Big Finn Hill Park to the east via an old logging road that branches off the trail at the halfway point.

Next trail: Licorice Fern Natural Area