Last month, we noted that a Seattle walking fan named Holden was organizing “saunters” around the city and that his next one would be in West Seattle. Last Saturday was the big day, and it was a success! Holden sent this West Seattle Saunter report with photos today:
Howdy Y’all,
Back on May 17th of this year, hundreds of people showed up in the pouring rain to walk the entire length of Seattle, from north to south, in the inaugural Seattle Super Saunter. Despite the weather it was a truly positive experience of folks exploring the city, making new friends, and getting some good exercise. A goal of the event was having some way of connecting disparate areas of the city together, and getting folks to experience neighborhoods that they might not otherwise see. And although we felt like the event did a good job in that aim, there was one large part of Seattle that felt difficult to include, and one that often goes overlooked by folks in other parts of the city, West Seattle.
So in an attempt to rectify not being included in the Seattle Super Saunter, we thought why not give West Seattle its very own saunter. So on Saturday July 12th and beginning from the West Seattle Water Taxi Pier, the West Seattle Saunter took its first step. The simple plan was to traverse 12 miles around West Seattle on foot and see some of the best spots West Seattle has to offer such as Alki Beach, Lincoln Park, Myrtle Reservoir Park, and Summer Fest at Alaska Junction.
At the beginning there were probably about 150 folks who came out to saunter on what ended up being a gorgeous and wonderful day. What was especially nice was to have a good ratio of folks from West Seattle and New Seattle (the mainland), probably about half and half.
Something that was also great was seeing so many folks use the water taxi. Another goal of these saunters is to encourage folks to use transit, so it was the perfect opportunity for folks to use the water taxi. The 773 shuttle also made it convenient for folks to get from Summer Fest at Alaska Junction back to the Water Taxi at the end.
Some of the highlights of the day included:
-Getting to hear about the Alki Healthy Street over at Constellation Park
-Learning about what life was like with the West Seattle Bridge being out
-Seeing a seal over at Lincoln Park, right after this woman had promised her friend there would be one
-Swarming the Super Deli Mart at 35th and Barton with our large group
-Visiting the highest point in the city and exploring the cute neighborhoods and parks near High Point
-Meeting Everett, who was 9 years old and who walked the whole 12 miles and finding out later he got rewarded with a big ice cream cone at the end
-Finishing up at West Seattle Summer Fest and enjoying all the vibrancy of the event. It was such a treat to meet so many great people on Saturday and I heard from plenty of folks that they had never been to West Seattle or that they had not been since before the pandemic.
So this felt like the perfect opportunity for people to explore and re-explore alongside the wonderful residents of West Seattle. If you were not able to make it out on Saturday, I hope you take the chance to get to see West Seattle on foot (take the water taxi too!). Although at times West Seattle can feel like an afterthought to folks on the mainland, there really is so much to see, do, explore, and enjoy out on the Peninsula, as I am sure your readers already know. I know I’ll be back soon and I’m sure plenty of folks from Saturday will too.
Thank you to West Seattle for being so wonderful and thank you everyone who showed up to make Saturday special!
If anyone would like to stay in the loop for any future saunters, you can join our email list here or follow the Instagram.
