Trails of Arkansas (& now California): Green Lake, Seattle

Before arriving in Seattle for the summer, I already knew I wanted to visit Green Lake. I'd read lots of great things about the park, including the fact that it had an off-leash area, while doing my housing search on Craigslist. While I ended up living by magnificent Magnuson Park, I still harbored dreams of visiting Green Lake and jumping off the high dive. My online research pointed out that Green Lake has lots of attractions including: the zoo, a paved 2.8 mile trail around the lake, boat/board rentals, swimming areas, a children's theater, assorted ball fields, and unpaved trails through a scenic wooded area. The park has a few concession stands and there are lots of restaurants and cafes to choose from within a block or two of the park if you get hungry.

I finally made the journey with my friends on what ended up being a cool and windy summer day. We parked near a swimming area, but were a little intimidated by the wind, so we decided to walk around the lake. After awhile we came to second swim area and, not knowing when I'd be back, I decided I had to experience swimming in the lake and leaping off the high dive. This ended up being a little scarier than I'd hoped, but I blame the wind for my nerves and few second hesitation at the end of the handrail.

After I swam, we continued our walk around the lake. We saw a great blue heron, lots of ducks, a handful of turtles sunning on a log, and some Canada Geese. We also witnessed for the first time the art/sport of freestyle frisbee. After politely inquiring "what IS that?", we were treated to an explanation and free tutelage by none other than 2012 World Mixed Pairs Champion Mike Galloupe.

Following the freestyle frisbee fun, we finished walking the loop and stopped at Zeke's Pizza for some big slices and local beers.