UW MEDICINAL HERB GARDEN - One of the hidden gems of the "U District" is the University of Washington's "Medicinal Herb Garden." It is one of the largest in North America and is really a treat for anyone who is interested in plants,
medicine, traditional healing and foods, etc. Arthur Lee Jacobson has written a wonderful article on plants to check out during the winter at this garden, Life in the Dead of Winter.
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON CAMPUS - The UW campus houses many cultural resources including the medicinal herb garden, the Henry Art Gallery, the Burke Museum, etc.
But the campus itself is like a large park with many open green spaces. Click here for
"Eight Big Trees at the University of Washington: a self-guided tour".
UNIVERSITY AVE - You can also visit "The Ave," or "University Way" in the University District (to the west of UW campus). It is somewhat boring, in my
opinion...but my favorite food on The Ave is Thai Thom's on the West side of the street above 45th Ave. NE, and a Pakistani restaurant on the east side of U Way at around 43rd.
The third weekend of every May the U District holds its "University District Street Fair," which closes down U Way for booths and stages and draws a large crowd.
Cowen Park entrance at Ravenna Ave and University Way...
RAVENNA or COWEN PARK - Another area of interest in the University District is at about 63rd and University Way NE,
Cowen/Ravenna Park.
If you walk down into the "ravine" at Cowen Park, you will find you can walk quite a ways in a nice wooded area, with
little streams, interesting little paths among big trees with lots of moss, etc. 
You can start up at The Ave and
about 60th, enter Cowen Park and then walk down into the Ravenna Ravine, and if you follow the main
path at the bottom, you will come out at 65th and 25th in Ravenna (a photo of that path is in the pic above)...There is a kid's play area, a wading pool, tennis courts, etc.
I have also seen "sexual exhibitionists" there, so be somewhat careful if you are a woman...but there is enough traffic that it is pretty safe.
GREEN LAKE - Not far from the University District, to the north, is Seattle's
Green Lake area. Green Lake is a glacially-created lake, surrounded by a 3 mile loop which can be walked, biked, skated, etc. Arthur Jacobson has
written a wonderful guide to trees along the Green Lake trail, which makes for a healthy outing any day of the week.
And here is a list of "Some Special Trees of Green Lake."
GAS WORKS PARK - Gas Works Park is a large waterfront park with sweeping views of the city to the west of the U District. Many ride bikes or walk there from the
U District on sunny summer days along the Burke Gilman Trail...avoiding cars as you walk along Seattle's Portage Bay. Sometimes there are free concerts in the summer here, as well.
This park has a VERY cool, large sundial on one of its hills and is a noted place to go kite flying in the spring.
BURKE GILMAN BIKE TRAIL - The Burke Gilman Trail is a 27 mile bike trail that runs all the way from
Ballard along the ship canal onto the UW campus, then along Lake Washington, up to Matthew's Beach, where it heads into Kenmore and becomes the Sammamish River Trail, running along Bothell and
Woodinville...it is a beautiful route, which runs along water most of the way, either Lake Washington or the Sammamish River. It is not too crowded and a wonderful trail to walk, ride, skate, etc. on.
You can go from the UW campus on this trail to Gas Works Park to the west, or you can ride it from the Univerity north to the beach in Lake Washington. This trail is a city resource and is treasured by locals.
HOUSEBOATS - Lake Union has a very unique enclave of houseboats. It is fun just to go walk along the docks and to look at this unusual *lifestyle* afloat.
There are houseboats in Lake Union to the west of the U District, if you take Eastlake Avenue south from the University Bridge a few blocks, and then turn right, heading west
down to the waterfront, you will drive along a bunch of houseboats and also boats that people are living on. You can get out and walk down the docks looking at the houseboats, and then
enjoy the views from the ends of the docks at the water's edge as well. Several little parks line the waterfront areas south of the U drawbridge to the west down there. You can also take a rowboat or kayak and
get it into the water down there to paddle around Lake Union...
BURKE MUSEUM - The Burke Museum is a wonderful museum on the west edge of the UW campus. It
houses a large collection of Native American artifacts and also has a wide range of plants, lichens and flora in its
Herbarium Collection...The Burke Museum has an interesting behind the scenes blog, as
http://burkemuseum.blogspot.com/.
HENRY ART GALLERY - The Henry Art Gallery on the west side of the UW campus, hosts interesting art exhibits year round. I have seen
amazing exhibits there in the past including one where they had live doves flying inside with copper plate number tags of Holocaust survivors on the floor that crackled when you walked, it was
very avant-garde, and I also will never forget my first exposure to agit-prop was at this gallery during a Soviet Revolution art exhibit...
LAKE WASHINGTON/MATTHEW'S BEACH - Matthew's Beach is a local
swimming hole for Seattlites in the heat of summer. The beach has lifeguards, bathrooms, a playground, and an accessible beach that is easy to swim in. They also have a diving and sunning
platform on a barge a ways out from shore that kids like to swim to. As a kid, I spent many a summer there with my mom, and I spent many summers there as a teen with friends too. It is a nice area and you
can get there by bus, bike or boat!
LAKE WASHINGTON/MAGNUSEN PARK - Magnuson Park is a huge park (350 acres)
with waterfront access, lots of tennis courts, and a boat launching pad into Lake Washington. It is on the old Navy base and has some relics to that effect. Magnuson offers swimming as well as a public
boat launch, a playground, a wading pool, picnic areas, and more! It is a nice place to have large summer picnics, and you can pick bowls and bowls of blackberries there in late August.
THE ARBORETUM - The Arboretum is a gigantic green space (230 acres), with lots of picnic area and a Japanese Garden, and a
marsh to row around in or you can walk the planks among the marsh and enjoy the plants and birds. You can rent rowboats and canoes to use on Lake Washington and in the Arboretum from the
Waterfront Activites Center at UW.
Currently the public can rent rowboats or canoes for $7.50 an hour there. And here is a guided tour of
"Some Favorite Trees in the Washington Park Arboretum's Japanese Garden".
MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND INDUSTRY - The Museum of History and Industry is down by the marshlands of the Arboretum.
It is a great museum, housing Seattle's history. It is the most thorough Seattle history museum around. I went there as a kid on school field trips in elementary and junior high grades.
The museum has many very unique Seattle history items, such as items from the Seattle fire, and also things relating to famous families of Seattle, such as the Denny family.
LAKE UNION/IVAR'S SALMON HOUSE - Ivar's Salmon House on the north side of Lake Union, underneath the U Bridge, has a beautiful interior and serves excellent
food including high quality open flame cooked salmon. If you have a boat, you can drive your boat right up to their dock, park and eat, then get back in your boat. They have a barge outside the
restaurant that you can eat on with a nice view of the city's skyline, or you can eat inside with the warm wooden cabin feel. The Native American artifacts on display there are museum quality. The Sunday
brunches there are legendary for Mother's Day, and other family celebrations. You can also just go to their outside window and get fish and chips to eat outside at their tables. Outside you
will experience their one of a kind ordering system! If you have been there during a rush, you will know exactly what I am talking about.
BLESSED SACRAMENT - In the north end of the U District, is Blessed Sacrament Church, just off of Roosevelt Way NE at 52nd Ave. NE.
Its vaulted ceilings, large collection of saint statues, and unusual architecture make it quite an interesting place to visit.
Check out these vaulted ceilings!
Here is a statue of Saint Jude Thaddeus, Saint of Impossible Causes...
One day I was talking to one of the priests who live at Blessed Sacrament and I asked why all of the upper
grottos on the outside of the church were empty. He said in the beginning, when they began construction on the church, there were
lofty dreams and ambitions. The lower part of the church was built out of more expensive materials than the upper levels of the
church walls as they ran out of money. The empty grottos were supposed to hold statues, but never did, due to a lack
of money. You can see the empty grottos in this picture.
Kirsten Anderberg. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint/publish, please contact Kirsten at kirstena@resist.ca.