6 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Parking gates open 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Amenities
Trails Grills Play Area Drinking fountains Picnic Sites Hand Carry Boat Launches Views RestroomsImages
About
Carkeek Park is a large park in north Seattle on the edge of the Blue Ridge and Broadview neighborhoods. The main entrance road loops down the 216-acre forested ravine to an expansive meadow and beach. Explore 6 miles of trails through forest, along creeks, meadows, wetlands, and beaver ponds. You will find a playground, picnic areas and shelters, beach and tide pool access over a pedestrian railroad bridge, demonstration gardens, an orchard, and spectacular Puget Sound and Olympic Mountain views. Volunteers work in the forest, trails, orchard, gardens, and salmon work year-round to keep this urban park healthy and welcoming.
Small boat launch is not available from the park, and beach access is restricted to boats arriving by water only. You may hand carry a boat onto the stretch of beach from the pedestrian bridge south for 300 feet.
The Park’s education buildings are closed to the public.
Birds & Salmon
Carkeek Park is home to dozens of resident and migratory birds year-round. Download and print a copy of the Birds of Carkeek Park and come with your binoculars!
Piper's Creek, together with tributaries Venema and Mohlendorph Creeks, form one of Seattle's few salmon-bearing streams, thanks to a combined effort to restore and protect their ecosystem, monitor water quality, and enhance their numbers since 1979. Visitors can view chum salmon and attend educational and celebration events from mid-October to early December. Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project runs many of these events.
Carkeek Park EarthKeepers Day Camp
Carkeek Park's EarthKeepers Day Camp for children (ages 6-12) held in July and August. On any given day a camp participant may explore the tide pools, hike the many trails, play in a field, learn about nature or create art.
We offer activities to foster friendship, learning, creativity and leadership. EarthKeepers Summer Day Camp is a collaboration between the Carkeek Park Advisory Council, the Associated Recreation Council, and Seattle Parks and Recreation.
Piper's Orchard
The Friends of Piper's Orchard (FoPO) care for the heritage fruit trees found on the eastern slope of the Piper's Creek Trail, near the Eddie McAbee entrance. Working in collaboration with SPR's Urban Food Systems Program, City Fruit, and the Carkeek Park Advisory Council, they steward and protect the orchard, support local food systems, and help to educate about fruit tree care.
Demonstration Gardens
This one-of-a-kind park feature is found by taking a hard right after the main entrance off Carkeek Park Road. The gardens’ mission is to help homeowners envision a backyard wildlife habitat by using natives and adapted non-natives in a natural landscape style. Our plant diversity helps support migratory bird populations and pollinators by providing food, shelter, and nesting materials.
The largest Demonstration Garden in King County, it is maintained by Extension Master Gardeners and volunteers from the community during 64 work parties per year. Visitors can see a wide variety of plants that thrive without fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides—protecting the Piper’s Creek Watershed and salmon habitat.
Carkeek Park Visitor Center
Carkeek Park Visitor Center is no longer open for public use.