Seattle Stairway Walks: An Up-and-Down Guide to City Neighborhoods by Jake Jaramillo & Cathy Jaramillo

Author:Jake Jaramillo & Cathy Jaramillo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Mountaineers Books
Published: 2012-02-15T16:00:00+00:00

Terrific Puget Sound view from Montavista Place

You won’t tempt fate too long before heading back up the gracefully decrepit Montavista stairs and away from the bluff. You’ll visit more stairways and take in the beautiful homes and views of the western ridge of Magnolia, before dipping across Pleasant Valley and then up a long stairway stashed away on the flanks of the eastern ridge. You’ll climb up and back down the hill, then meander south along the eastern portion of Magnolia, before reaching Ella Bailey Park, with its awesome views of Queen Anne and Downtown. Your walk ends near “the Village,” the charmingly compact retail hub of the neighborhood. Here you can wind down at the local pub or one of several cafes.

Length: 4.5 miles

Walking Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Steps Down: 327

Steps Up: 405

Kid-Friendly: Although this is one of the longest stairway walks, you could take a fun, truncated walk to kid-centric and view-rich Ella Bailey Park from the Village area, via W McGraw and 28th Avenue W. The only stairs would be at the Ella Bailey end, where there’s a drinking fountain and portable toilet.

Cafes/Pubs: This walk begins and ends at Magnolia Village, the neighborhood’s small retail district. You’ll find a pub, coffee shops, and restaurants up and down W McGraw Street.

Getting There: If driving, park on W McGraw west of 35th Avenue, where two-hour parking restrictions don’t apply. Metro Transit Route 24 (from Downtown Seattle) and MT31 (Fremont and U District) both stop at W McGraw and 35th; MT31 doesn’t run Sundays.

To the Glenmont Stairs and Perkins Lane (203 steps down): You’ll take the longest stairway, the Glenmont stairs, early in the walk. These steps lead down to Perkins Lane, which runs along the bottom of the bluff below Magnolia Boulevard.

From W McGraw Street, head south on 35th Avenue W to the first major right, Viewmont Way W. Continue southwest on Viewmont, which curves right just before Constance Drive W joins in from the left. Take the next left onto Constance, a lane turning sharply right downhill as it detaches from Viewmont. Turn left from Constance at the next street, Montavista Place W.

From here it’s a quick drop down Montavista to Magnolia Boulevard, which you’ll need to carefully cross without benefit of a crosswalk. At the far side, turn right and head up the sidewalk. From here you’ll enjoy views out over Elliott Bay. Below you, out of sight at the bottom of the bluff, is Perkins Lane, your next destination.

As you walk west along the top of the bluff, watch for the magnificent madrona trees, their pistachio-colored trunks peeking out from peeling red-orange bark. It’s said that this neighborhood’s name derives from the 1790s, when Captain George Vancouver mistakenly noted these trees in his ship’s log as magnolias.

You’ll continue along Magnolia Boulevard for two blocks. Just where you can see the road curving up to the right ahead of you, look for the handrails of your first stairway peeking up from the downslope on the left. This will be just opposite where W Glenmont Lane descends to meet Magnolia Boulevard from the hill above.

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