Seattle is unparalleled among major American cities for the abundance and beauty of its waterfront areas. The city has is bounded by water to the west (Puget Sound) and east (Lake Washington), and in addition is bisected by Lake Union and the various aspects of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. This walk will take you along one part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal complex of waterways, Lake Union's Portage Bay. The area is dominated by the University of Washington to the north and a variety of waterfront residences and moorages. This walk is 3.3 miles and is fairly level, with a few mild grade changes.
The walk starting point is the
Montlake Playfield, located on the south side of Portage Bay, at the end of 15th Street. The walk starts here because nearby free parking is available, unlike along the north side of Portage Bay on or near the University of Washington campus, and also because you can enjoy the waterfront at this point, the view perhaps marred by the SR 520 freeway on a bridge over an arm of Portage Bay. to a pontoon bridge across Lake Washington.
Go along a pathway adjacent to the water to the east (right). Eventually the path will curve away from the water. Then make a sharp left onto this pathway, which leaves the Montlake Playfield toward the Montlake bridge across Portage Bay. Follow the pathway under the SR 520 freeway.
Eventually the pathway merges with a sidewalk on the west side of Montlake Avenue. On your left you will see the large campus of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, operated by the federal government. After a couple of blocks on Montlake you will use the Montlake Bridge to cross to the north side of Portage Bay. The bridge was constructed in 1925 in a gothic style designed to be in harmony with the University of Washington campus to the north. The bridge can be raised to allow for marine traffic below because it is part of the
Lake Washington Ship Canal, the ambitious 1911 maritime project connecting Lake Washington to the Puget Sound. After crossing the bridge you will get a glimpse off to the right of Husky Stadium, home to the University of Washington's football team.
Once you cross the bridge leave the roadway via a trail to the left. At a fork in the path keep to the left and head down the grassy slope toward the water.
To the right you will see a portion of the University of Washington Medical Center, which has grown from small beginnings in 1959 to become a Pacific Northwest institution. The Medical Center itself is only a small part of the massive University of Washington campus, over 700 acres in size and home to 45,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
Soon you will be at the water's edge. The water in question is the
Montlake Cut, connecting Portage Bay on Lake Union with Lake Washington. As the name of Portage Bay suggests, the site of the cut was used by Native Americans to portage boats from Lake Washington to Lake Union. The simple portage was replaced by this waterway, which lowered the level of Lake Washington by nine feet and changed the lake's outlet from its southern end to this point. Today the cut is not used much by commercial shipping - the most notable users of these waters are now associated with the
University of Washington.
Continue along the edge of Portage Bay and enjoy the view across the water.
On your right you will pass the University of Washington Oceanography building, constructed in 1930. The Oceanography department has long outgrown this structure and also occupies two other large buildings along the waterfront. As you continue along the waterfront your path will be blocked by one of the other Oceanography buildings, a more modern behemoth.
At this point turn right and head away from the bay on San Juan Road. Directly ahead is the Magnuson Health Sciences Center. This massive building, at 533,000 square feet, is reputed to be the largest university building in the United States. It is part of the University of Washington medical school complex and is named for long-time U.S. Congressman and Senator
Warren Magnuson, who used his seniority to funnel large amounts of federal largesse into the state. If you are visiting at the right time of year you will also enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms on the trees lining the roadway.
San Juan Road ends at Columbia Road, where you will turn left. Follow Columbia Road as it curves to the right and becomes 15th Street. Monumental university science buildings will be on your right, and views across Portage Bay and its boat marinas will be on your left.
Cross busy Pacific Avenue. On your right is the
Physics and Astronomy building, constructed in 1994.
Immediately after crossing Pacific Avenue you will come to the
Burke-Gilman trail. Turn left on the trail. This 27-mile paved bike and walking path goes from Lake Union all the way to the suburb of Bothell to the northeast. The route was originally constructed as a rail line in the 1880s. Continue on the trail, watching for speeding cyclists. On your left is
Mercer Court, a massive apartment complex for University of Washington graduate students that opened in 2013.
Continue on the Burke-Gilman Trail to the University Bridge over Lake Union. Under the bridge is the
Wall of Death, an art installation intended as a tribute to auto, cyclist, and skateboarder stunts. However the work had to be modified in 2008 to prevent its actual stunt use by skateboarders.
Across from the Wall of Death, to the right, are these stairs up to the deck of the University Bridge. Take the stairs and start across Lake Union on the bridge - you will be on the east side of the structure. The bridge dates from 1919 and is a double-leaf
bascule crossing (aka a "drawbridge).
As you head across the bridge, to the west you will see the massive Ship Canal Bridge that carries Interstate 5 over Lake Union and Portage Bay. This double-decker was opened in 1962, and soars 182 feet above the water - there is no need for a swing or draw opening to let boats by! The lower deck is exclusively devoted to rush hour express lanes in the morning and evening.
Looking to the northeast, you will see the north side of Portage Bay with many boat docks and marine facilities, and beyond is the University of Washington campus.
To the southeast on the south side of Portage Bay the scene consists of residences hanging over the water (or at least their boat hangars) and houseboat moorages that are floating on the bay.
When you reach the south end of the University Bridge turn left and immediately turn left again. Cross the parking lot to a short pathway that puts you on Portage Place, the street closest to the bay. Turn right on Portage Place. Enjoy the view of the bay to the left between the waterfront homes, which vary greatly in age, size, and design. Portage Bay Place ends in a stairway going up a hill and then veering right to Allison Street. Once on Allison Street go forward to Fuhrman Avenue, where you will turn left.
Fuhrman Avenue curves to the left and becomes Boyer Avenue, following the path of the bay (although there are residences between the street and the bay). Eventually you will pass next to the massive Queen City Yacht Club, with a variety of large pleasure boats under its covered moorages.
After the Queen City Yacht Club you will pass under a bridge for the SR 520 freeway. Just a mile or so to the east this freeway uses the
Evergreen Point floating bridge to cross Lake Washington over to Bellevue and Redmond. The freeway and bridge were opened in 1963. Continue on Boyer Avenue to 15th Avenue where you will turn left and return to your starting point at the Montlake Playfield.
