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This is one of a series of pages guiding you around  Seattle's viewpoints.

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Seattle Viewpoints
Kinnear Park

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Location
West Olympic Place.

Admission
Free.

Getting there by car

Click icon to map your route on MapBlast!

Getting there by bus
From downtown, via bus number 1.
The bus route takes you through the Queen Anne/ Mercer commercial district where you will see plenty of eateries and shopping worth returning to.
Board the northbound bus at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Pike Street.
Alight from the bus at the corner of West Olympic Place and 5th Avenue.
It is about a 17-minute ride each way.

Cross the road and walk west along Olympic Place.  You will see the small park entrance just ahead, at the end of the pedestrian path.

Notes and Tips
Kinnear is a delightful park on the southwest slope of Queen Anne Hill.  Paths meander beneath stately trees and long lawns.  Benches are strategically sited to take in the bay views, and there are swings for the kids.  A lookout is found atop the cleverly designed public restrooms.  Unfortunately, landslides continue to threaten the lower part of the park, which is fenced off.

There is a little more noise here than at the nearby Kerry Park, due to the steady traffic on West Olympic Way, and to the sounds of the waterfront grain silos in operation.  However if waterfront activity is of interest, then this is a great place to watch boats plying Puget Sound.

The park is named for the original owner, George Kinnear, who moved to Seattle in 1874.  Kinnear promoted the first wagon road through Snoqualmie pass, and organized the Immigration Board.  In 1889, his neighbors asked him to sell some of his wooded land to the City, and he did so - for one dollar.  

While in the area, you might also like to visit Kerry Park, about a 15-minute walk away.  It has even better views.  Follow 5th Avenue up the hill (it becomes stairs for a bit so this is not a drive-able route) to Highland Street and turn right. From Kerry Park, you can then take the number 2 or 13 bus back into downtown.  It is probably better to go to Kerry Park first so you have a downhill walk to the larger Kinnear Park for a rest or picnic.

The Views 
From the lookout you can see 180º views from the middle of downtown Seattle in the southeast (although the Space Needle is generally out of sight), to Magnolia with the Olympic Mountains prominently on the background in the northwest.  Across Elliot Bay  you can see the neighborhood of West Seattle on Duwamish Head.

Best time for photos is in the PM.

The following photos were taken in the mid afternoon on a hazy, sunny day in late March.  Click on photo for full-size image.

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Above Seattle
by Emmett Watson, Robert W. Cameron (Photographer)
May 1994, Hardcover, 160 pages, (non-fiction). A collection of historical and original aerial photos of the area with captions that tell you what you are seeing from these unusual angles.
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Puget Sound: Sea Between the Mountains
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Seattle (Citylife Pictorial Guide)
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Best Places Seattle
by Giselle Smith (Editor), Nancy Gellos (Designer). May 1999, Sasquatch Books, 8th edition, Paperback, 482 pages, (guidebook)
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