A muddy walk on a rainy March day. This park is still excellent, and feels as if it's been that way for centuries. Babbling streams, blooming wetland flowers, Schmitz is everything you could ask for in a city park. The signage requesting that people and dogs stay off of the native plant life borders a tiny bit on the passive-agressive side, but that's forgivable if it does the job of protecting this beautiful little hike.

This is a very beautiful area. The biggest issue I have with it is that there are marked trails. Unless you are familiar with the hike, you will not know where each trail leads. For safety reasons, I gave this hike a 2. I'd like to go back and then update this report if necessary.

Wow, what a great little park! It's a shame that it took me moving away from West Seattle to make it here, but better late than never. After my outing to Cowan and Ravenna Parks and the Arboretum, I was writing letters at a coffeehouse when my former roommate texted me saying he had received some of my mail since I'd left and would I come get it. So much for not starting my car today. I packed up the letters and coffee and headed back to my house to get my car. On the way, I realized I could take this opportunity to see Schmitz Park. I zipped by my old house and picked up the mail, then headed up to the preserve. It is absolutely delightful. Once you get below the level of the street, the traffic noises fade away and birds tweet, leaves rustle, water burbles--it's almost absurdly relaxing. The trails vary, from nice and wide to narrower and a little more wild. There are old-growth trees, nurse logs, and towering snags. All the other groups there today seemed as entranced as I was, and I barely heard anyone speak a word, either to me or to each other. If you live in West Seattle, go here often. If you don't live in West Seattle, try to get here the next time you have occasion to visit.