Discovery Park

This morning I decided to go to Discovery Park for a trail run. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that in all my years of living in Seattle I’d only been to Discovery Park once before! I left my apartment at about 9:30am, took the bus downtown and then transfered to a #33 for the trip to Discovery Park. It took roughly an hour to get to the park. I could practically have run there is that time (OK maybe not quite) but the bus ride was very easy and comfortable and it was all part of the adventure of the day.

I stopped in to the Visitor’s Center to get my bearings and then started running clockwise on the Loop Trail. This 2.8 mile loop is the only part of the park I’d seen before. After about a mile I turned onto the South Beach Trail and headed down to the beach. I ran all the way down to the West Point Lighthouse (pictured below) and then spent some time wandering along the beach and taking in the scenery. It was only partly cloudy but unfortunately most of the Olympic Mountain range was obscured by low clouds.

After the beach visit I took the Hidden Valley Trail to the North Bluff. By then the sun had fully come out so I decided to run down to the North Beach just to check things out. I then ran up from the beach and finished the rest of the Loop Trail through the forrest. By the time I got back to the Visitor’s Center I’d gone a total of 5.5 miles in 1:37. Obviously pace means nothing today since I spent a bunch of time taking pictures and just enjoying the day. I did however run all the flats and easy inclines. When things got too steep I hiked. It was a great workout. I even managed to capture this picture of me running on the trail next to South Beach. You might notice that I’m wearing my new backpack that my parents got me for Christmas. I actually got the pack for downhill/cross-country skiing but it worked out really well today comfortably holding 2L of water, extra clothes, snacks, my camera and other miscellaneous items.

After my run I took the bus back home. The connection in Belltown wasn’t great (a 20 minute wait, that’s what happens on Sundays) so I stopped into one of my favourite local coffee shops for an Americano. By the time I got home I was beat which I think it quite funny since I only ran 5.5 miles! It was an awesome morning and I’m so glad that I finally got around to exploring Discovery Park! I’ve posted a few more pictures in my Discovery Park photoset.