suec1

We will be staying near Pioneer Square - besides the downtown activities we would like to see some other parts of the city - probably by getting to an area by city bus. We would like to stroll around a residential neighborhood that has charming houses with nice landscaping - Fremont? Ballard? Belltown? West Seattle? We also would like to do a bike ride - just a relaxing, relatively flat, low-stress ride - maybe on the Burke Gilman trail - can you suggest a place to rent bikes? Again we need to access these activities by public transportation, specifics would be appreciated! Also are there pleasant areas to walk or bike around Lake Union? Thanks!

lennyba

Queen Anne Hill would fit the bill for your stroll. Take a bus to the top (http://metro.kingcounty.gov/) for route planning, or hike up the Counterbalance if you're badasses.

Or, take the water taxi over to West Seattle and rent bikes at the shack next to the dock (http://www.kayakalki.com/location.html). You can pedal all the way around West Seattle to Lincoln Park on mostly flat terrain. Head up to the North Admiral neighborhood for restaurants and charming houses with nice landscaping. Also great views of the city from Hamilton viewpoint at the very north end of California Avenue.

NWWanderer

agree with suggestion for ws water taxi--easiest for renting bikes.

suec1

Looking for a little more feedback so topping for the daytime crowd!

christy1

Queen Anne is a good choice but I like the homes on Capitol Hill even better. The Harvard-Belmont historic district is beautiful, plus it's adjacent to Volunteer Park which you should walk through, then there are beautiful homes with lake and mt views just east of Volunteer Park. There are also very interesting and lively shopping/dining streets on Capitol Hill--Pike, Pine, 15th and to a lesser extent, Broadway. Cal Anderson Park is a nice stop if you just want to sit on a bench and people watch. Very good lunch options on the hill too. Ballard and Fremont have some nice homes and gardens but also lots of new townhomes, condos, etc. Ballard Ave is great (neat old buildings) if you want a good shopping and dining street an a Sunday farmer's market.

I don't know where to rent bikes but the Burke-Gilman up to Matthews Beach at least is a great ride and the trail is flat. Matthews Beach is a nice little park where you can stop and enjoy the views and the water. The suggested ride in West Seattle would be great too.

happytrailstoyou

Here's another idea: Take Bus #11 to 38th Avenue East. Walk east through the homes in this area and down hill toward Madison Park (in the direction the bus was going). This is probably the cutest shopping neighborhood in Seattle. Have a drink or meal at one of the restaurants or bars there. Take your swim suit for a dip in Lake Washington.

HTTY

Daniel_Williams

Hi suec1,

Regarding renting a bike to do the Burke-Gilman Trail, this is what I managed to pull out from my 2008 trip report to Seattle. I remember it was a good 20-minute walk from the Burke Museum to Bob's All-About-Cycles (right next to the Burke-Gilman Trail); do note that I back-tracked to begin with to go to Agua Verde/Gas Works Park, which are the opposite direction from Matthews Beach starting at the bike shop.

"Walking down 45th St. from the Burke Museum, I rented a bike at Bob’s All-About-Cycles (37th Ave.) for $7/hr. and did a superlative North American bike ride along the Burke-Gilman Trail. I stopped for a Mexican lunch at Agua Verde, an efficient University of Washington student-popular restaurant which had great views of Lake Union, kayakers and Capitol Hill-style homes stacking up the shore opposite. Starting at Gas Works Park by Lake Union, I pedaled for around 45 minutes to an hour with the continual majesty of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains in front of me, not stopping until I reached Matthews Beach Park on Lake Washington."

Have a great trip to Seattle! Daniel

suec1

Thanks for the suggestions - it gives us a couple of options - we may end up doing this sort of thing for two days. We are going over Labor Day weekend - hope we don't see too much "liquid sunshine".