Heritage Urban Woodland

Stewardship of the Land. Born out of Assistant City Engineer George Cotterill’s 1890s plan for a 25-mile system of bicycle paths around the nascent city, 51.7-acre Interlaken Park, a ribbon of hills and ravines on Capitol Hill’s north slope, took shape in the first blueprint that John Charles Olmsted presented to Seattle in 1903.

Restorative Green Space. Hikers, bikers and joggers have long benefited from the peace and privacy of this wildest of Seattle’s Olmsted parks. Barred owls and Cooper’s hawks can be spotted among the 140 tree species that flourish here. Spring wildflowers, including bleeding heart, wild ginger and enchanter’s nightshade, offer a feast for the senses.

The Strange Case of the Mysteriously Tall Redwoods. Magical Interlaken is home to Seattle’s tallest redwood tree (184 ft in 2018), in a grove of redwoods planted 100 years ago above Boyer Ave. and 22nd Ave. E. These trees thrive in the damp coastal climates of Oregon and California; their healthy growth in a dry site has flummoxed arborists.