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This urban hike features a peat bog, public art, a salmon stream that runs through front yards, and a shopping center parking lot. You'll want to have a map with you for this one — it's got signage, but it helps to know which way to turn.
Just south of the playground off Roxbury are the creek headwaters in a peat bog and the start of the trail. Start looking for the way-finding markers. There are two kinds: squat square brown posts with directional markers and tall metal flags with abstracted plant prints (lupine, fern, horsetail).
They'll lead you across Barton Avenue and through Westwood Village, then past the Southwest Community Center and Chief Sealth High School.
In this section the trail goes through the Longfellow Creek P-Patch, a segment of trail that illustrates how the creek alternates between being underground and then occasionally emerging into the daylight.
Dodge east onto Elmgrove, turn left onto Delridge, and then left onto Kenyon. A right onto 24th SW and two blocks, and you'll arrive some Detention Ponds.
Another right onto Webster and walk a block to the police station, then turn left and walk on Delridge for another block. This section is a mosaic of trail, sidewalk, and street. Here you'll encounter the creek again. Keep your eyes out for the markers — they're easy to miss if you're distracted by the sights.
Past the police station, get back onto 24th SW and follow the trail as it strays from the street and becomes quiet and shady. Of note is how the creek has been integrated into the city's infrastructure and into the landscaping of yards it runs through.
Towards the other end of the trail, you'll get a chance to head uphill to High Point or into Camp Long. The creek splits the difference, and no trail follows alongside.
The trail ends at Dragonfly Pavilion after crossing the elegant Salmon Bone Bridge. Climb a few blocks up to Avalon to catch the C Line back to Westwood Village and your car. Alternately, you can take the H line.
You can also retrace your steps to go back to Roxhill or make a loop through High Point and other West Seattle neighborhoods.
Trailhead
