Carkeek Park
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox park Carkeek Park is a Template:Convert in the Broadview neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The park offers various attractions, including Piper Orchard, Pipers Creek with its tributaries, Venema Creek and Mohlendorph Creek, as well as picnic areas, shelters, and hiking trails.<ref name="AboutCarkeekPark">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed
Carkeek Park features diverse habitats—saltwater, riparian, wetland, upland forest, and meadow—that support a wide range of wildlife. Visitors can explore a six-mile trail network leading to a beach, playground, and a salmon imprinting pond, with scenic views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound. The trails also pass by Demonstration Gardens and remnants of the park's original fir, hemlock, and cedar forests.<ref name="AboutCarkeekPark" />
A pedestrian bridge over the BNSF Railway connects to the park's sand beach on Puget Sound. The Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center hosts many of the park's educational programs.<ref name="AboutCarkeekPark" />
History
Seattle's first park to be called "Carkeek Park" was on Pontiac Bay, Lake Washington, near Sand Point. It was created with a financial gift to the city from Morgan J. Carkeek, a prominent builder and contractor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The park was condemned by the federal government in 1926 for the construction of Naval Station Puget Sound, which was later returned to the city and is now Magnuson Park. Carkeek offered $25,000 towards the creation of a new park, which the city accepted and themselves funded $100,000 to acquire land.<ref name="Times-Birthday">Template:Cite news</ref>
The new site, also called Carkeek Park, is situated on Puget Sound at the mouth of a creek known in Lushootseed as kʷaatəb, meaning "place where people are sent."<ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref name="SherwoodCarkeek">Template:Cite web</ref> Located in a steep canyon, its rugged terrain has protected the park from the urban expansion that has transformed much of Seattle.<ref name="Times-Birthday"/><ref name="SherwoodCarkeek" /> The property was owned by the family of city councilmember and baker A. W. Piper, who had established a homestead along Pipers Creek after losing his shop in the Great Seattle Fire in 1889.<ref name="Times-Birthday"/>
Carkeek Park was formally dedicated on August 24, 1929, with 2,500 people in attendance for the ceremonies led by Vivian Carkeek, son of Morgan J. Carkeek.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The park served a variety of purposes in the 20th century: it hosted outdoor performances, provided feed for zoo animals, and even briefly became an Army camp during World War II.<ref name="SherwoodCarkeek" /> In the 1930s, workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps built park structures, only to see them removed by 1938. Plans for an equestrian academy in the late 1940s were halted by budget shortfalls.<ref name="SherwoodCarkeek" /> Meanwhile, a sewage treatment plant that operated for years was eventually replaced by a Combined sewer overflow and pump station near the beach constructed by the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle.<ref name="SherwoodCarkeek" /><ref name="AboutCarkeekPark" />
An additional Template:Convert was acquired for the park in 1953 by the city government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carkeek Park was re-dedicated on July 9, 1955, a year after the city annexed the park and the adjacent Broadview neighborhood.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The park had been renovated with paved roads, new beach and picnic areas, and an archery range, and paved roads.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A walkway over the railroad tracks to the beach was constructed in 1956.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The archery range was relocated to Magnuson Park in 1985 after residents near Carkeek Park complained of stray arrows.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Carkeek Park's natural landscape has seen significant changes. Originally covered in old growth forest, it was clearcut by the early 20th century. Today, the park features a mature maple-alder forest in a successional stage, with evergreens like Western red cedar and Douglas fir slowly reclaiming their dominance. Wetlands host cattails and sedges, and huge lady ferns fill the ravine between 105th and 110th streets.<ref name="SherwoodCarkeek" />
Amenities
Piper's Orchard
Piper's Orchard, Seattle's oldest, was planted by settler A. W. Piper after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. Neglected for decades, the orchard was rediscovered in 1981. Volunteers restored the trees and planted new ones, forming the Friends of Piper's Orchard to preserve and restore the property.<ref name="FriendsPiperOrchard">Template:Cite web</ref>
Playground
The Carkeek Park playground, designed to emulate the Pipers Creek watershed, features a 19-foot purple salmon slide, tiny caves, and a stream. These elements are intended to educate children about local nature and history. The project required $275,000 in funding and several years of planning and physical labor, culminating in its completion by local parents and neighbors. It officially opened in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Demonstration garden
Carkeek Park hosts the largest master gardener demonstration garden in King County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The garden covers an acre and features various themed beds connected by gravel paths, aiming to educate home gardeners on creating wildlife-friendly spaces using sustainable plants. It promotes local ecosystem health by avoiding harmful chemicals and offers educational workshops for gardening enthusiasts. The park includes accessible paths and picnic facilities, serving as a community resource for education and recreation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Environmental Learning Center
The Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center (ELC) was designed to demonstrate sustainable building practices aligned with U.S. Green Building Council standards. It was the first City of Seattle building to achieve LEED Gold Certification.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The center includes rooftop rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient insulation, and solar panels via Seattle City Light’s Green Power program. It also features salmon-friendly landscaping for stormwater management. Its construction utilized recycled and regional materials to reduce transportation-related energy use.
The ELC closed in 2013 due to city budget cuts and is no longer open to the public.
Salmon habitat
In 1987, chum salmon returned to Pipers Creek after a 50-year absence, following restoration efforts launched in 1979 by the Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The initiative, supported by the Suquamish Tribe, state agencies, Seattle Public Utilities, and Seattle Parks, focused on improved storm water management practices to revive the salmon run.<ref name="WDFWchum">Template:Cite web</ref> Peak season to see returning salmon is November.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In autumn 2023, beavers took up residence on the creek near its outlet into Puget Sound, building a dam, altering the environment, and complicating the maintenance of the salmon run.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On November 12, 2024, a total of 1,779 salmon were counted in Carkeek Park as part of the annual volunteer counting program for the autumn spawning run. It was a record amount for Pipers Creek, which had reached lows of 54 fish in 2019 and 190 in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
Template:Broadview, Seattle Template:Protected areas of Seattle