Parks & Trails in Bellevue

Bellevue has more park acreage per resident than almost any city its size in the country, and it shows the moment you look at a map. Twenty minutes of walking in any direction from downtown puts you at either a lake, a botanical garden, a wetland boardwalk, or a Douglas-fir forest with a mountain view. This is the guide we hand to anyone who thinks Bellevue is just a shopping district.

The parks below split into four honest categories. The flagships — Bellevue Botanical Garden, Downtown Park, Mercer Slough Nature Park — are the ones we send every visitor to. The waterfront parks — Meydenbauer Bay, Chism Beach, Newcastle Beach — are the ones we spend summer weekends at. The trail parks — Bridle Trails State Park, Coal Creek Natural Area, Lake Hills Greenbelt — are where we go when we want to disappear for two hours. And the neighborhood parks — Wilburton Hill, Crossroads Park — are the ones we hit on a normal Tuesday walk.

A few local notes. Bellevue parks are open dawn to dusk with almost no exceptions. Parking is free at every one of them; the largest lot is at Downtown Park and it fills only during Snowflake Lane and Fourth of July. Dogs are welcome on-leash everywhere; off-leash areas are at Robinswood, Bridle Trails, and Marymoor (just outside the city). Restrooms are seasonal at trail parks — reliably open May through September, hit-or-miss the rest of the year.

For a first visit, we'd start at Downtown Park for the promenade and reflecting canal, then walk fifteen minutes north into the Botanical Garden. That's the Bellevue parks pitch in ninety minutes.

Spring is the loudest season at Bellevue Botanical Garden — magnolias in March, rhododendrons in April, roses in late May. Mercer Slough turns green almost overnight, and the trail parks dry out enough to be enjoyable by mid-April.

Summer is beach season. Meydenbauer Bay, Chism Beach, and Enatai Beach all have lifeguarded swimming from mid-June through Labor Day. Newcastle Beach is the quieter alternative. Downtown Park's fountain runs from Memorial Day weekend.

Fall is the best hiking season on the Eastside. Coal Creek Natural Area's Big Leaf Maples turn gold in mid-October; Bridle Trails smells like fir and rain by November. Wilburton Hill's playground is the best in the city and stays busy through October.

Winter is Garden d'Lights at Bellevue Botanical Garden (late November through early January — one of the best free holiday walks in the region) plus quiet Sunday-morning walks at Mercer Slough boardwalk. Trails get muddy but stay open.