Living in South Seattle I have been aware of Schmitz Preserve, a hidden gem in West Seattle just south of Admiral Way and a little way uphill from Alki Beach, but I had not been there in many years. Today I took advantage of a nice afternoon and an open schedule to explore the park. Parking is limited. I found an open spot on 59th Street SW, across from Alki Elementary. The trailhead was just across the playfield from there, but since school was in session I walked all the way around the playground.
The trail is a gentle uphill until it passes underneath Admiral Way and enters the main area of the preserve. Inside the preserve there are a set of primary trails that follow the creek on both sides. One can do a short loop or a longer loop. These trails are in pretty good condition except in the low areas where there is some mud. It isn't deep or particularly troublesome, but boots would be recommended this time of year. Beyond the central loops there are several spur trails that take off up the hill to various access points for the surrounding neighborhoods. These are narrower and twistier (is that a word?) than the main trails, but provide the opportunity to find unique things, like the big Douglas Fir tree (six feet in diameter) that had a big leaf maple growing right on top of its root ball. I also found some of the biggest, oldest cedars in those areas, and even a few red huckleberry bushes. I followed almost all of them to their ends, just for fun.
Since the trailhead was only a couple of blocks from the beach, I took the long way back to the car when I left and visited Alki to watch the sunset over the Olympic Mountains. I nice little cherry on top.
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