Two hours to kill in West Seattle

I recently won my company’s tickets to a Mariners game and rather than just roll up to Seattle in time for the game, Veronica and I decided we should use a trip to the city as an excuse to do some exploring.

So, we headed to West Seattle for a few hours recently and present it here as our latest entry in our Two Hours to Kill series.

There wasn't much fall color at this point in Lincoln Park, but we did see a bit of yellow leaves. — There wasn’t much fall color at this point in Lincoln Park, but we did see a bit of yellow leaves.

A co-worker at The News Tribune recommended checking out Lincoln Park, which sits on the far west side of Seattle. We’d never visited that park, let alone heard of it, so off we went.

Lincoln Park has two distinct portions – the bluff and the beach.

On the bluff are a myriad of walking trails through old growth forest, as well as ballfields, picnic areas, a playground, and peek-a-boo views of the Puget Sound.

A ferry in the distance from Lincoln Park.

On the beach is a heated saltwater pool – which was closed when we visited on a warm September day – a paved path, a beach and expansive views of the Puget Sound, Olympic Mountains and the Vashon Island ferry terminal.

Our group included Veronica, her sister Tori, Craig’s co-worker, Thomas, Craig and 2-year-old Catarina.

The path to the beach at Lincoln Park is a bit steep, but it didn't stop our crew from going down it. — The path to the beach at Lincoln Park is a bit steep, but it didn’t stop our crew from going down it.

Initially we were going to go check out the large playground, but decided we didn’t want to risk a Catarina meltdown when it came time to leave.

So, instead we took a steep path to the beach to check out the saltwater pool.

The path was short, but a bit of an elevation change, so be forewarned that it isn’t for everyone. It was worth it, though. We spent some time just gazing off into the blue distance, watching Catarina climb on the driftwood, and reading about how allegedly you can see whales from the beach.

According to this sign, you can see myriad whales from this beach.

Since we were pressed for time, we snapped a couple of photos and made our way back up the hill. I’m guessing this area of the park in the fall would be stunning, but the leaves on the trees were still green – so while pretty, it wasn’t a true Autumn feel.

After spending 30 minutes in Lincoln Park, we went off in search of food. With a diverse crowd we played it safe and hit up Elliott Bay Brewing Company where we enjoyed a vast array of dishes: hamburger, fish and chips, tofu, vegetable plate and sandwiches. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat at Elliott Bay, but if you want a good burger – and if you are into beer – this is a safe place to go with a few locations around Seattle.

We still had 30 minutes to kill before heading downtown for the game, so we decided to cruise the Alki strip.

The ferry between West Seattle and Vashon Island cruises near Lincoln Park in West Seattle.

We headed back toward Lincoln Park and made our way along the waterfront eventually ending up at Alki Beach. The houses in this area were stunning to look at and to imagine how many roommates we’d have to have to be able to afford to live in one.

From there we hit Alki Point, where we dumped Thomas off to try and get some photos of Mount Baker which was visible in the distance. I haven’t really been to Alki since I was a kid, and would definitely like to spend some time walking along this stretch of beach.

We weren't sure what type of tree this is, but it had glorious yellow color on this early fall day. — We weren’t sure what type of tree this is, but it had glorious yellow color on this fall day.

But even if you only have time to drive this area you should do it. The best views of the Seattle skyline are on the east side of Alki and in the span of about 3 miles, you can see Mt. Rainier, the skyline, Mount Baker and the Olympics. Hard to top that.

With our two hours up, we headed downtown and went to our baseball game which ended with a rare Mariners victory.

– Craig Craker

2 Comments Add yours

5sOnTheFly says:

October 11, 2015 at 5:35 pm

Great tips! We’re looking to spend a few days around Halloween in Seattle, so we’re sure to make use of some of your suggestions, especially the Alki Beach 🙂

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larryfleisher says:

September 3, 2016 at 7:15 pm

This is great. In my only trip to Seattle seven years ago, I spent extensive time in this part of the city and loved it.

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