Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City

by David B. Williams

Seattle is often listed as one of the most walkable cities in the United States. With its beautiful scenery, miles of non-motorized trails, and year-round access, Seattle is an ideal place to explore on foot.?

In?Seattle Walks, David B. Williams weaves together the history, natural history, and architecture of Seattle to paint a complex, nuanced, and fascinating story. He shows us Seattle in a new light?and gives us an appreciation of how the city has changed over time, how the past has influenced the present, and how nature is all around us?even in our urban landscape.?

These walks vary in length and topography and cover both well-known and surprising parts of the city. While most are loops, there are a few one-way adventures with an easy return via public transportation. Ranging along trails and sidewalks, the walks lead to panoramic views, intimate hideaways, architectural gems, and beautiful greenways. With Williams as your knowledgeable and entertaining guide, encounter a new way to?experience?Seattle whether you are a long-time resident or a newcomer.?

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Nature, History, Reference

304 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2017

Reviews

[Diane]

Technically not actually finished reading, but it’s too good not to share. This book has 15 walks around Seattle and its environs, each with a clear map and walking instructions, but most importantly, lots of Points of Interest, where you can stop and read about that spot. Each walk offers info that I had not known before, pointing out interesting buildings, or a building with an interesting feature/past, natural landmarks and elements of general historical interest. One walk takes you along Seattle’s original shoreline, which at times is startlingly far from the current shoreline. One walk points out the top of a building, which roughly corresponds to the height of the land before the Denny Regrade. One walk follows the path of the now-mostly buried Ravenna Creek down to the Union Bay Nature Reserve, a piece of land created when engineers lowered Lake Washington by nine feet, and which was used as a dump for many years afterwards. I did not know that Seattle has a dedicated Civil War cemetery.

Both Seattleites and out-of-towners will enjoy doing these walks and I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

[Thom]

This is a book for experiencing, not for reading. I'll come back and review it when I've walked it out.

[Tiffany]

What a fun book! This has 17 different walks -- based on different themes and locations -- to do around the city of Seattle, including downtown, Northgate, Sand Point, West Seattle, and Alki. Each walk includes a map, notes about any difficulties you may come across on the walk (no restrooms, lots of hills, traffic, etc.), and very detailed directions of how to get from one place to the next on the walk.

The idea of themes is very cool, which I fell in love with during David Williams' various Zoom talks for organizations during COVID. We've got themes like the the destruction of Denny Hill, different types of rocks and stones in downtown architecture, and my favorite "Who's Watching You?: A Downtown Menagerie in Stone and Terra Cotta" (so many animals in the decorations of buildings!).

At each stop, he tells you why this stop is significant to the history of Seattle and/or the theme of the walk. I love when he tells you to stop at a certain spot and imagine what it was like in some other century, then gives a description of what you might have seen. It's like hopping into a time machine.

I've already informally gone on parts of these walks on days I wound up in Seattle, based on what I remembered him saying during his Zoom talks, but now that I've read this book, I'm looking forward to taking it with me to Seattle and doing these walks properly. Lace up them sneakers!

[BookBec]

Having done a couple of these walks, I can say that Williams' directions are terrific and his explanatory paragraphs are about the right length. A paragraph or two is plenty to read with your walking buddy at any particular stop. We saw places and learned facts about Seattle that we'd never known, despite living here for well over 20 years. Many thanks to the local libraries for stocking their shelves with abundant copies of this book!

[Curtis]

Walking is my favorite way to explore a city. The Seattle Walks book offers great self-guided tours of the city with interesting history and facts along the way. Even though I've lived in the city for years now, I've been able to discover new places and learned the history of things I had simply walked by previously.

[Shannon]

This book is a gem! I'm so glad I picked it up. One walk is right here where I live, and it was great to add historical references to my wanderings. I love the backstory and informative notes about particular spots. I look forward to visiting each area.

[Phillip]

3.75 / 5.0

Guess real test will be when I take the walks. Good Clear Directions but a little weak on history, geology etc. Would have appreciated more details rather than cursory discussion of a short paragraph or at most two.

[Louise]

This isn't the kind of book to just read. It has mapped out walking tours set up in and around Seattle with points of interest and descriptions of what you are walking past or seeing. The one walk I have been on was awesome. Can't wait to try some more.

[Steve Erickson]

excellent book that gave me places to explore and parts of the city to venture to that I would not have otherwise.

[Malia]

Local interests an great walks for Western Washington or Seattle area.

[Jessica]

I've loved going on these walks with my child. I haven't done only a few. The history and routes are interesting and I wish there was more!

[Vicki]

Haven't had a chance to take any of these walks yet, but plan to do so soon. Contains detailed descriptions. Will add more to this review when I have more experience.