Bottom Line:
It was the "Pathway of Lights at Green Lake" event! Very festive and fun with thousands of candlelit luminaries along the paths and docks, live music (featuring local school bands), and five hot-air balloons on the playing field. Nice way to put in ~6 miles although it was VERY busy (busiest ever for me), even though the extended exposure shots here make it look like nobody was there! Very fortunate to have a dry evening after this week!!
Stats:
- Distance: 6-1/2 miles
- Duration: 3-1/2 hours
- Parking: Used the park-and-ride under the freeway on Ravenna and had no trouble parking at 4pm, with the event starting at sunset. The traffic and crowds grew quickly after that. Concessions open as well as some tents with complimentary snacks. Long lines at restaurants and bars around the lake as you would expect for an event like this.
- Weather: Some high cloud, 40-50Fs quickly cooling off after sunset, dry
- Trail: The lakeside trail was crowded, with traffic in both directions, although clockwise seemed a little less so, and the backend of the lake opposite the main fields was better crowd wise. The lanterns were most effective on the darker parts of the trail away from the road, as the whole Green Lake area was quite the traffic jam. Trail is paved with areas of mud just off the trail. A number of docks for some relative solitude. Kayakers with lit-up boats out on the lake. Easy to do some extended exposure shots with a tripod by steeping off the trail.
- Takeaway: My first time at this annual event! I will definitely go again next year but work on my body-draped Christmas light display :) Much of the fun was seeing everyone's lights - some pretty inventive stuff! The decked-out dogs were a highlight. Might take my packraft with lights next time too.
The attached video is a "short" (tilt your screen). Higher resolution pics available at the Instagram link below ;)
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