Urban Hike: Innis Arden Beach Trail
The middle of June, we accepted an invitation to join our friends Carrie and William on the Innis Arden Beach Trail -- a gated trail accessible only to residents of Innis Arden. I can't be certain which street the trail started from, but we hiked a mildly sloped trail along Boeing Creek through what looked like pretty old trees. We watched for owls and osprey, but didn't see any. At the bottom of the hill, we went through a small tunnel under the railroad tracks and then found ourselves on the beach.
With rocks and stumps to explore -- and little crabs to hold -- we had a great time. After some peanut butter sandwiches, we headed back up the hill, not sure how many snacks it would take to lure the two, goofy four-year-olds up the trail back to the cars. In the end, they each finished a snack bag of dried fruit, but it didn't take much coaxing at all. We stopped by the nearby play field to explore the playground. Wyatt and Will rolled down the grassy hill about a dozen times before we went our separate ways and headed for home. Another urban hike under our belts!
As someone who took for granted and never made much use of the miles of publicly accessible beaches in Southern California, what a disappointment it was to arrive in Washington and find out how extensively privatized are the shores of Puget Sound.
ReplyDeleteAs a lifetime Seattle resident this is disappointing to me as well. If this property is private then i suppose it is their right but shame on Shoreline and Edmonds for not reserving land that makes these shores accessible to the tax paying public.
ReplyDeleteIn Mexico all beaches are public, and you cannot restrict access to the beaches. Some may be hard to access, but there are always public access to trails to the beaches that may be lined with properties. It is really sad that such a beach can be gated off only for the rich folks of Innes Arden and Highland. I have walked to this beach before, by hiking the railroad tracks. It should not be necessary to do so, there should be public access. Such a shame. Only in America I guess can the rich gate off beaches which should be able to be enjoyed by all. Shame on Innes Arden & Highland!
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