Seattle's Best Running Neighborhoods

My love of Seattle’s distinctive neighborhoods brings us to another installment in the Great Neighborhoods of Exercise series. This chapter takes us to lovely Mount Baker, named because you can see Koma Kulshan’s summit rising over the lake to the north. With its sweeping views, steep ridges, glamorous mansions, craftsman cottages, and groovy Olmsted boulevards, this part of town is a delight to explore.

A Little History

Before the pioneering of Seattle, a branch of the Coast Salish Duwamish people who called themselves the Lake People had seasonal cedar longhouses along the lake in this region. They typically spent summers there, fishing and gathering plants. Historians report an indigenous legend that a horned, spotted earthquake monster lived near the site of Colman Park. And there was a significant landslide there in 1898.

It turns out that this area was one of the first planned communities of Seattle, a subdivision built around a community clubhouse, and integrated into its natural setting. And at the time, it was considered well away from the hub-bub of the city, so it was designed as a haven for early wealthy Seattleites. While there are some houses that date before 1900, most development here happened in the lead up to 1909 World’s Fair because it was logged and developed after Queen Anne and Capitol Hill. Developer J. C. Hunter commissioned the Olmsted Brothers of NYC’s Central Park fame to design a plan for the neighborhood. That’s why you get that swoopy swoony urban design feel as you cruise Mt Baker and Hunter Boulevards. With grand homes overlooking the lake and more modest ones along the ridge, the development was intentionally built with the community club as an anchor.

A notorious Seattleite (and a different kind of runner), the King of the Rum Runners Roy Olmstead (no relation to the urban planners) lived in a fancy Mt Baker home during prohibition. Though official city historians will say this story may not be true, Olmstead’s wife was rumored to have sent cryptic signals to their army of rum runners via children’s stories she read each night on the radio station they operated. Come on a walk with me in Mt Baker and I’ll show you their house.

Mt Baker Community House held gatherings both social and civic but the clubhouse and neighborhood had restrictive codes aimed at keeping the less wealthy and non-whites out. That exclusivity started to change after World War 2 and into the 60s and 70s, with younger residents actively working toward more diversity and inclusivity.

The neighborhood continues to show off its grandeur a couple of times a year in the Home and Garden tours. The community clubhouse thrives as a place where you can take Zumba, yoga, dance classes, visit a crafts fair or catch music and other interesting programming with fellow citizens.

What Fitness Activities Can I Do in Mount Baker?

Mt Baker has fantastic dibs on lake front paths for your daily constitutional or long endurance runs. Roam Colman Park for wooded trails. Cycle up quiet S-curve roads that bring you past a huge terraced pea-patch. There’s also the Dose Stairs heading up from the beach where you’ll find folks donning packs and training for big climbs. Head up into Mt Baker Park along a shaded path to tennis and pickleball courts and a damn fine playground complete with a zip line. From there you can loop around and cruise the boulevards–Mt Baker and Hunter–with their broad green space neutral grounds.

Water sports are well-accommodated here. We’ve got a happening sand beach, several docks to launch your open-water swims parallel to the shore, and a rowing club where you can learn to row, scull, stand up paddle, sail and windsurf.

Bikes and pedestrians can get on the I-90 bridge for a direct line to Mercer Island and the East side, making for a great commute or evening bike ride or run. The Mt Baker light rail station connects to Columbia City to the south, and Beacon Hill to the north. This makes the area one of the more accessible parts of town and opens options for point-to-point runs and walks. One of my favorite ways to run is to start at one light rail station, run 2-4 stations away, and return by train. A few Unstill Life routes do this. Just remember your Orca pass/fare and you’re all set.

On the west flank of Mt Baker is Franklin High School, and their oddly shaped track, a some-time setting for Unstill Life workouts. It’s a lively spot where we feel connected to the city and enjoy being among an ethnically and economically diverse bunch of neighbors.