Run and Play in Kenmore, WA’s Saint Edward State Park

Another great weekend.  Another great state park.  Another mission to fit in a trail run for my upcoming half marathon.

We found ourselves with some errands to run in the North part of the city, and knowing I had to somehow work a run into the day, I thought of Saint Edward State Park.  Saint Edwards is in Kenmore, a smaller town just Northeast of Seattle.  I’d visited the park once or twice, but not for any huge length of time.

I knew there was a short trail hike down to Lake Washington.  It turns out though that this little gem boasts quite a few miles of trails.  As a bonus of sorts, since it’s just in Kenmore as opposed to places in the mountains or foothills, the level of difficultly is not that high.  Don’t get me wrong, there are still some challenging, steep hills, especially the South Ridge and Grotto Trails, but also plenty of flat terrain to just cruise and enjoy the scenery.

This time, instead of joining me on the trail for a hike of their own, Slaed and Bergen stuck to level ground and explored the playground.  I thought the playground might have kept them busy for a half hour or so.  To my surprise, as I made my way back from about 6 miles of winding up and down the hills and along the water, I found the father and son duo exactly where I’d left them.  Not even a mini-hike down to the throw rocks into the lake for these two.  Bergen was too occupied with the enormous play structure, sandbox, and oh, dragging  large tree branches around the lawn.

Slaed was quite impressed with the space as well with it’s emphasis on art, and special features making it easy to enjoy the morning without all the hassle of chasing Bergen too much.  It didn’t take him long to start to notice little touches in all the nooks and crannies.  The toddler section, with the sandbox and fun tunnels to crawl through, is fully enclosed, and even when Bergen got up to the higher structures made for bigger kids, he was protected by railings.  The playground is also positioned away from the parking lot creating lots of good, safe space to run around beyond the borders.

Slaed was such a fan of the park that he proposed we go for a second weekend in a row.  Again, the boys stuck to the playground and it’s immediate surrounding areas and stayed busy, while I logged an 8 mile trail run by looping (roughly) around the perimeter of the park twice.

Info to Know:

• Saint Edwards State Park is located in Kenmore, WA:
  • 14445 Juanita Drive NE
    Kenmore, WA 98028
  • Hours: 8 am-dusk
  • Fees: $10 day pass or purchase the $30 Discover Pass for admission to all WA State Parks for a full year.
• Most of the trails are hikers only, but some trails closer to the entrance of the park allow bicycles.  Those on foot have the right-of-way.

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More Washington State Parks:

Cape Disappointment State Park (Ilawao, WA)
Wallace Falls State Park (Goldbar, WA)
Fort Worden State Park (Port Townsend, WA)
Peshastin Pinnacles State Park (Peshastin, WA)
Moran State Park (Orcas Island, WA) Obstruction Pass State Park (Orcas Island, WA)
Olallie State Park (North Bend, WA)