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| South Woods Preservation Group |
Southwoods Park became a park a few years ago because of the efforts of many people, including, South Woods Preservation Group (SWPG), the 2006 Openspace, Parks and Rec Bond, Shoreline voters and taxpayers, City of Shoreline and originally, the students and staff of Shorecrest SAFE Club.
At Southwoods, SWPG members and neighbors have spent countless hours fighting to control the invasive plants like English Ivy, English Holly, and Cherry Laurel among others.
It could just as easily have been a housing development if it were up to the school district and water district!
Be proud!
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| Dogwoods and Planted Swale by City with pervious paved sidewalk - Southwoods Park 2009 ph cr - Vicki Westberg |
Walkabout
Enjoy family-friendly Hamlin Park and South Woods
Hamlin Park and South Woods in Shoreline offer easy walks for families with kids.
Special to The Seattle Times
Where: Hamlin Park and South Woods
Location: 1653 N.E. 168th St., Shoreline.
Length: About three miles of trail; South Woods has a central paved trail running north-south that bisects the park and connects to a about a mile of dirt/gravel trails, with a paved pedestrian path on the south edge along Northeast 150th Street.
Difficulty: Level-to-moderate.
Setting: This 80-acre park is a forested haven for birds and people within a neighborhood of single-family homes. Bring your kids to walk the trails, listen for woodpeckers, climb the play structures, and watch a young batter hit a homer at the ballfield. In the last few years, park trails have been spiffed up with wooden bridges over mucky areas and new steps for climbing the steeper grades. South Woods, a 16-acre area south of Shorecrest High School, was recently added to the park system.
Highlights: This area was part of the Hamlin family homestead, which was logged during the last part of the 19th century. The current second-growth forest is a little more than 100 years old. The Shoreline neighborhood was settled in the early 1900s, aided by the Interurban streetcar line that extended north from Seattle. The U.S. Navy purchased the land in 1923, and constructed a hospital complex and housing (including six houses and an officer's barracks in South Woods).
After World War II, the land was used as a state hospital and sanitarium into the 1960s. Much of the eastern portion was transferred to the local school district (and Shorecrest High School and Kellogg Middle School were built). In the 1980s, the Navy transferred South Woods to the state. The high school's environmental club and a neighborhood group stopped the property from being developed in the 1990s, and the city finally acquired the land in 2007.
Facilities: Restrooms and playgrounds at Hamlin Park.
Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect.
Directions: From Interstate 5, take Exit 175 and head east on Northeast 145th Street. Turn left on 15th Avenue Northeast, then turn right into Hamlin Park at Northeast 160th Street (trail access is best from the first parking lot). To reach South Woods, turn right off 15th Avenue Northeast on Northeast 150th Street, turn left on 25th Avenue Northeast, and turn left into Shorecrest High School (where you can park after school hours).
Renton-based freelancer Cathy McDonald, a geologist by training, has written about science and nature travel for 20 years. She's currently a travel guidebook editor at Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door. Contact her at nwwriter@hotmail.com. |
| Southwoods Park dedication plaque ph cr - Janet Way |
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