If you love nature, you’ll love Seattle. No, really! We’re not as rainy as they say—we just tell people that so they’ll leave us alone. We have 6,480 acres of parks, 4,563 miles of trails, more than 4 million trees, and stunning mountain ranges in every direction. We even have a slogan for our view—if you ever hear anyone excitedly exclaim “Mountain’s out!” you know Tahoma (Mount Rainier) is looking especially fine that day. Late spring into early fall is the best stretch of nice weather—once that thermometer hits the mid-50s in April, we flock to the parks, trails, water, and beaches to shake off winter’s cold grasp and replenish our depleting Vitamin D. Well, at least until smoke season hits. Then it’s back into the air-conditioned bars and movie theaters.

Strip Down to Your Skivvies at Denny Blaine Park

Madison Valley

Denny Blaine is my favorite place to be homosexual in the United States. Like all great American queer beaches, it’s so tiny, remote, and (lovably) ugly that you’d think nobody else would possibly have wanted it. But this jewel happens to be in a wealthy neighborhood and neighbors, from their mansions and private waterfronts, have launched a war on nudity, which is totally legal in our fine city. It began in 2023 with a $1 million plan to build a playground there, and continued with a recent lawsuit that alleged the city had let the beach fall into the greasy gorilla-grasp of public masturbators. Perpetually attacked and perpetually saved, Denny Blaine is for anyone who isn’t afraid of showing a little skin. Oh, and the no parking signs do mean no parking. Chance it and you will be towed. VIVIAN McCALL

Get on a Boat! Any Boat!

Various locations

It’s not a matter of if you’ll have the opportunity to get on a boat while visiting Seattle, it’s a matter of which kind of boat you’d prefer. We have dozens of different water vessels available to rent, from self-powered paddle boats (Green Lake Boathouse and Coffee Shop) to wooden row boats that will make you feel like Anne of Green Gables (the Center for Wooden Boats) to literal floating hot tubs that you can put around in on Lake Union for about $450 a pop. Personally, I love the cute little cruisers at the Electric Boat Company. The basic model goes for $139 an hour and seats up to 10 people—that’s just $14 each! It’s outfitted with padded seats and a table with cupholders so you can pack a picnic, and it’s also got a Bluetooth stereo and optional heating for chilly nights. Plus, they’re super easy to drive. Even I, an anxiety-riddled anti-captain, can confidently cruise around at a smooth 6 mph to see a special side of Seattle only visible from the water. MEGAN SELING

Owl Prowl at Discovery Park

Magnolia

If you need a break from the depressing black hole that can be city living, I recommend prowling for owls like you’re in a Tove Jansson novel. Located just across from Ballard’s Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in the Magnolia neighborhood, Discovery Park is a gigantic wooded oasis with stunning waterside hikes, a historic lighthouse (more on that below), and several breeds of owls lurking amidst the trees. Owls are nocturnal creatures, but it’s not unusual to see one during the daytime. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, go on the prowl after dark (the park closes at 11:30 pm); just don’t forget your binoculars. AUDREY VANN

Then Search for Sea Stars at West Point Lighthouse Beach

Magnolia

One of my favorite things to do with out-of-towners is tide pooling at Discovery Park’s West Point Lighthouse Beach. Wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet and check for low tide. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you start seeing clams spitting everywhere. It’s like a mini Fourth of July celebration, but instead of fireworks, it’s tiny streams of water being shot up into the sky by buried clams. In the shallow pools, you’ll likely be able to see sea anemones, which are topped with rings of hairy-looking tentacles and look like something dangerous out of Stranger Things, but they’re harmless. You should be harmless, too—if you gently touch the outside of the sea anemones, they will react and close up. NATURE. But what you’re really there to see are the sea stars (the actual term for what common folk call “starfish”). They will be on the big rocks or boulders on the edge of pools and you will have to get low to see them. I have gotten on my hands and knees to spot three purple sea stars tucked under a rock and told a group of people nearby, “Hey! Did y’all see the sea stars here?” To which they replied, “NO! We looked all over that rock for one!” Didn’t get low enough. RACHEL STEVENS

Take the Path Less Traveled at Carkeek Park

BROADVIEW

This city is rich with an embarrassment of outdoor spaces. Discovery Park and Golden Gardens tend to take all the glory, with their showy beach bonfires and sweeping territorial views, but for my money, Carkeek is the best park in city limits. Just a little bit north of Golden Gardens, Carkeek is a breathtaking 220-acre pinch of the Olympics. The 3.5-mile loop that starts and ends at Piper’s Creek takes you from wetlands, orchards, and mossy little bridges up to big views of the Sound, past the beach (no dogs allowed), and into rolling, hilly forests. KATHLEEN TARRANT

Freeze Your Ass Off in the Puget Sound

Various locations

If you spend any time at Golden Gardens or Alki Beach, you’re gonna see people in the water and wonder, “Isn’t it cold?” Yes! It is! Quite cold. The average sea surface temperature for Elliott Bay, for example, is 59 degrees Fahrenheit in August. But you should jump in anyway! People pay good money for cold plunge baths at high-end spas, and here in Seattle, we get that shit for free. If you’re new to plunging, I highly recommend starting with one of the local organizations that facilitate group events; I really like Coldwater Collective and Puget Sound Plungers. Both post their weekly schedules on Instagram, along with tips for first-timers, and it’s way more fun yelling and swearing and splashing around with other people feeling your pain. (Wear a warm hat! It really does make a big difference!) Your first time will probably suck. I lasted about 20 seconds before bailing and swearing it off for good. But 24 hours later, I wanted to try again. I loved the tingly feeling on my skin and the rush of endorphins. Now I go at least once a week, and half the time, I spot some cute sea critter playing out in the water, too. MEGAN SELING

Witness the Miracle of Life at the Ballard Locks

Ballard

Are you in Seattle to gawk at leggy birds? Look no further than the Ballard Locks! It’s a concrete mass separating saltwater from freshwater that functions as a boat elevator and fish ladder between Puget Sound and Salmon Bay. This landmark, the busiest boat locks in the United States, harbors a Janus-faced past and present: an artificial scarring of the landscape that displaced Coast Salish people during its construction—as commemorated on some plaques outside the nearby Pagliacci??—but also a hotspot for wildlife. Demure seals, charismatic salmon runs, yappy sea lions, yacht owners in the throes of a midlife crisis, etc., etc. The Janussery continues at the blue heron rookery in Commodore Park (the Magnolia side), a lovely site where loving (leggy) heron parents raise their chicks. The bird colony, though, is also used by local NIMBY-ists to delay local affordable housing construction under the guise of “ecological preservation.” J’accuse! But also tell the heron I said hi. ADAM WILLEMS

Do Shrooms in the Arboretum

Madison Park

Here’s the thing: When it’s sunny out, there are a million places in Seattle you can and should take a trip with everyone’s good pal psilocybin. The obvious—and unbeatable option—is the Washington Park Arboretum. Pack a picnic blanket, a water bottle, a few snacks, a towel (who knows if you’ll wander to Foster Point and be called by the lake), a fresh pair of socks, any sun protection you need, and spend an afternoon wandering in and out of the arboretum. Rhododendron glen will never look better. You could spend a full hour watching the sun cascade through the leaves and through John Glade’s Union, a netted sculpture of transparent blue and green forms hanging from the trees. Find a bench and listen to the wind, feel the sun on your cheeks, breathe. Maybe any shroom-inspired visuals will dazzle, or maybe you’ll just feel more at peace. (Note: While you can do shrooms in the arboretum during any season, a snowy day makes for quite the trip.) NATHALIE GRAHAM

Sink in the Muck on Foster Island

Montlake

There’s a squelchy, sticky oasis tucked in alongside the 520 bridge and the Montlake Cut aptly named Marsh Island. To reach Marsh Island, you must cross a pedestrian bridge that’s usually sinking a bit. Then, you’ll reach land. Depending on the season, this ground is not solid. I’d suggest taking your shoes off here if you were silly enough to wear shoes. Plod across the squishy mud into the trees that grow dense and impossibly green. Through the branches, you’ll find tunnels to access points. You can find a bench to sit on, or an empty dock to swim from. You can also keep going. You’ll reach another set of pedestrian bridges with concrete docks where you can fish or swim or bask. (If you look under one of the bridges, maybe you’ll see a sticker that says “Funkytown.” That was a key element in an Amazing Race scavenger hunt I planned.) Once you made it this far, I suggest you keep going across the maze of floating walkways. Sometimes paddle boarders and kayakers are hitched up here, taking a breather. Soon, you’ll make it to Foster Island, an isthmus that juts into Lake Washington where you sunbathe, barbecue, and watch all the boats go by. You can access Foster Island through the arboretum, too, but that’s less fun. NATHALIE GRAHAM

Smoke Weed at Our Secret Spot Next to the Cemetery

Capitol Hill

Roll or buy a joint of your choice (for me, it’s walking into Ruckus on 15th and asking for whatever the absolute lowest THC pre-roll is, something one step up from smoking a hemp necklace). Walk North on 15th, past Volunteer Park and past the entrance to the Lake View Cemetery. On the other side of the street, there’s the Louisa Boren Lookout, where you can sit on a bench and gaze out onto a truly sick view of Lake Washington and the Cascades. There’s also a giant rusted sculpture (a sort of a funky Stonehenge/Jenga?), and some weeping willows. The cemetery itself is also nice to stroll—it’s not very goth, but has pretty trees and is well taken care of. Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried here. For more memento mori further down 15th, bang an immediate left on Howe. You’ll encounter palm trees on the corner, as a treat, and then a few blocks down, a single monument and some headstones: the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery. I stumbled across this secret second cemetery by accident and was surprised to learn it’s the final resting place of Civil War veterans (Union side). There’s not a lot going on here, and that’s what’s nice. EMILY NOKES

Walk the Whole Olmsted 50K

Various locations

The Olmsteds are well known for designing big splashy East Coast shit like New York’s Central Park and Boston’s string of parks known as the Emerald Necklace, but the brothers also spent more than three decades designing 37 of our (objectively more) gorgeous Seattle parks. Last November, to celebrate 120 years of the Olmsted Parks contract, the Mountaineers’ Seattle Urban Walk Committee and Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks mapped out a 50-kilometer (31-mile) walking route that hits over two dozen of those parks. The route is broken up into fi ve 5-7 mile sections, beginning at the Ballard Locks and ending all the way down at Rainier Beach Playfield in South Seattle. It was specifically designed to be tackled in bite-sized chunks with plenty of scenery, treats, toilets, and Seattle landmarks along the way. The Seattle Urban Walk Committee hosts official walks, which you can find on the website, but it’s encouraged to go with friends on your own time. Personally, I’m trying to wrangle a group for a DIY 50k run of it this summer. KATHLEEN TARRANT