Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City

by David B. Williams

Overview

An updated and expanded new edition of the definitive walking guide to Seattle

One of America's most walkable cities, Seattle rewards urban trekkers with expansive scenery and architectural and historical riches. The second edition of this acclaimed guidebook offers eighteen walks chosen for interest and easy accessibility. Williams's compelling stories bring the city to life, revealing often-overlooked details of Seattle's past and present.

This guide includes:

• easy to follow maps

• in-depth descriptions of places tied to map locations

• sidebars with additional fun facts and advice on side trips

• new walks that focus on the city's social justice history

Extensively revised and illustrated with full-color maps and photographs, this new edition of Seattle Walks is an invitation to lace up your shoes and embark on some unforgettable urban adventures.

Seattle Walks was made possible in part by a grant from the Michael J. Repass Fund for Northwest Writers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295753669
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	02/11/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	145 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

David B. Williams writes about science and history. His many books include Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound; Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle's Topography; Stories in Stone: Travels through Urban Geology; and, with Elizabeth A. Nesbitt, Spirit Whales and Sloth Tales: Fossils of Washington State. Williams writes a free weekly newsletter, The Street Smart Naturalist.

Table of Contents

Walk 1. Seattle’s Historic Shoreline: Remnants from the Past

Walk 2. Denny Hill: The Big Hill That Went Away

Walk 3. Stories in Stone: Downtown Rocks

Walk 4. Where You At?: A Downtown Geographical Tour

Walk 5. Who’s Watching You?: A Downtown Menagerie in Stone and Terra-Cotta

Walk 6. Regrades and the International District: Shaping a Landscape of Diversity

Walk 7. Madison Street: Elliott Bay to Lake Washington

Walk 8. Lake Union: Circumnavigating the Center of the City

Walk 9. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and Discovery Park: Boats, Birds, and Big Trees

Walk 10. Green Lake to Lake Washington: Tracing a Historic Creek

Walk 11. Meadowbrook Pond and Thornton Creek: Restoration and Renewal

Walk 12. Magnuson Park: The Land Comes Full Circle

Walk 13. Capitol Hill: Elegance in Details

Walk 14. Beacon Hill: Great Diversity and Great News

Walk 15. Rainier Beach to Columbia City: From Slough to Slough

Walk 16. Delridge and Pigeon Point: The Lesser Known Side of West Seattle

Walk 17. West Seattle: Old Growth and Alki Point

What People are Saying About This

Knute Berger

"I trust David Williams’s research, curiosity, and legs when it comes to exploring Seattle’s topography and history. Seattle Walks works as a knowledgeable tour guide but also as armchair reading that plunges you into the city at ground level."

Susanna Ryan

"An absolute gem for anyone looking to explore Seattle on foot. Whether you’re a lifelong resident, first-time visitor, or somewhere in-between, this book serves as the perfect guide to uncovering the city’s hidden treasures and rich history."

Rick Steves

"Local walking-tour books—I love them! The first guidebook I fell in love with in Europe was one. And David Williams’s Seattle Walks is indeed your ticket to discovering and appreciating both the history and nature of my hometown."

Editorial Reviews

"What's wrong with feeling like a tourist in your own city every now and then? Seattle Walks is all about that feeling, of seeing familiar streets through new eyes. All it takes is a good guide, a slowing-down of your pace, and a willingness to stop and look up every once in a while."

Seattle Weekly

"When people take just a few steps into David B. Williams' Seattle, they're amazed at the history hiding in plain sight . . . This naturalist and former national park ranger, with a background in geology, delights in showing people cool stuff they might otherwise miss in his hometown."

Journey

"It's easy for Seattleites to forget, in our landscape of looming cranes and instant skyscrapers, that our town has a history. . . . David B. Williams' mission is to help you find that history. It's still there, in the nooks and crannies and corners of the city (though you might have to look up to find it)."

Seattle Times

"I could go on and on—every stop in the book seems to have an embedded mystery. . . . Chances are good that your neighborhood is in this book. Find and explore your own."—Mary Ann Gwinn, Seattle Times

"Williams encourages readers to slow down and look at the city through a pedestrian's eyes. It's a worthy cause. . . . Williams actually gets you out onto the streets, where the history happened, and that makes everything seem closer and more relevant. . . . Seattle Walks is all about that feeling, of seeing familiar streets through new eyes. All it takes is a good guide, a slowing-down of your pace, and a willingness to stop and look up every once in a while."—Paul Constant, Seattle Review of Books

"Williams is an engaging writer who does his homework and packs the history into his books with a trowel."—Matt Fleagle, Mercer Island Books

"He's at the very top of the list when it comes to covering our region's past."—James Crossley, Mercer Island Books

From the Publisher