Discovery Park

Last updated: October 30, 2023

I recently spent the Fourth of July weekend exploring Seattle and did not get through my aggressive agenda, so I decided to finish up this weekend by exploring Discovery Park, the Fremont Troll and Alki Beach.

Discovery Park is Seattle’s largest park sitting at 534 acres and has just over 11 miles of trails to explore. What’s cool is that you can take a trail that leads to a beach and a lighthouse. Along the way, you’ll see gorgeous flowers and enjoy a mostly shaded path. I took North Beach Trail which was an out and back trail that was 3.3 miles round trip. You can drive to the beach, however, it requires a permit (free) that is given to families with children under 8, seniors 62+, and people with disabilities. Outside of that, you’re hiking in if you want to go there.

I really enjoyed capturing the day with my handy dandy camera.

Discovery Park Beach

When you get to the beach, you’ll enjoy driftwood and nice views of the ocean. The tide was especially low when I got there and I enjoyed seeing what is normally hidden by the sea.

Discovery Beach West Point Lighthouse

The West Point Lighthouse was built in the late 1800’s and began operation in 1881 and actually used a kerosene lantern as its light until it was attached to Seattle’s electric grid in 1926. It became automated in 1985, being the last lighthouse in Washington to do so. Between 2009 and 2011, 600k of restoration work was done on the lighthouse and the keepers quarters. As a side note, I have now begun to research how to become a lighthouse keeper…

You can easily walk the beach over to the lighthouse and I’m really glad I did! I’m loving lighthouses more and more (especially their history) as I discover each one.