This is one of those happy accidents - I was looking for parks in my area, and found Saint Edwards was within about 15 minutes of home. I didn't note the need for a Discover Pass prior to arrival and was unprepared; thankfully, there was a helpful parking machine available to dispense passes. (It appeared that the machine might be capable of printing yearly Discover Passes, and the yellow car tags were available; the machine however did not want to print more than the $10 single-day pass.) There is a magnificent playground near to the pool and gymnasium buildings; I will have to tell my friends with kids all about it. I followed a roughly clockwise route around the park, skirting the water for a time and enjoying the sounds of people swimming and the water lapping at the shore. (Less so the power boat operators.) This may be my new favorite park. The trail options are numerous though not particularly well marked. I followed the south ridge trail at one point, which was a varied, up and down track. A few huckleberry bushes were in evidence, though the fruit was a bit small. I will definitely be back. Urban Hike #4 Mileage: 3.38 miles

I wanted to return to this Park to see the Grotto and do a little trail running. It just so happened to be an awesome day for it. The sun was out and the leaves were glowing. No issues for me, however a friend did some trail running a few days after me and after several days of rain it was messy! With that said, I love this park. the old seminary building is sweet, there is a giant play ground for kids, ball fields, large grassy fields, countless picnic tables, a beach and lots of trails! I ran the perimeter and then walked the two main trails leading from behind the seminary building to the beach. I saw several trail runners and others. It was not crowded, but I bet on a nice weekend or holiday it's packed. -Ken

A late start, a mild head cold, and chilly weather all led me to an urban hike today. I've never been to Saint Edward State Park so I decided to try it today. It's an eclectic park with hiking/biking trails, a playground, a pool, a gymnasium and an old seminary to boot. Today I hiked down the North Trail to the Beach Trail, then took the South Ridge Trail to the Plateau Trail, which returns to the parking area. I think this is around a 2.5 mile loop. I then decided to hike on the Arrowhead, Juanita, and Entrance trails in the NE section of the park. I think this added about a mile to my route for about a total of about 3.5 miles. All of the trails are in great shape right now. The North Trails and South Ridge Trails are fairly steep but the other trails are easy to moderate with no issues to report. The Beach Trail features several areas to have a picnic while enjoying the shores of Lake Washington. A Discover Pass is required to park in the parking lot and there are security guards enforcing the rule. I saw more than one car get ticketed this afternoon for not having a pass displayed.

This was a local hike that I managed to squeeze in while everyone else was watching the Seahawks play in the NFC Championship game. I arrived at 4 pm on an overcast but still afternoon. A few cars were left in the parking lot. I took the Seminary Trail down to the Lake Washington beach. For the ascent, I chose the South Ridge Trail over the South Canyon trail--for no particular reason. It was steep. Huffing and puffing, the trail dumped me out under the Bastyr University water tower. Since the light was quickly fading, I followed the paved road from the University back to the Seminary. I saw a few joggers and dog walkers along the way, but otherwise the park was almost empty. I encountered no trail issues along the way. For a handy trail map, see http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Saint%20Edward&subject=maps

We started the hike late in the morning around 10.00 am. It was a hike around the park. The trails are in good condition and there are lots of loops giving lot of options. We saw many hikers and joggers on the trail and there were many kids as well. The hike along the beach and the open area along the beach are nice places to sit down and relax. We also saw some mushrooms along the trail.