An old-growth forest hidden in the city

Here's a fact that reroutes most people's mental map of Seattle: one of the city's last stands of old-growth forest isn't out on some peninsula, two ferries away. It's in West Seattle, five minutes up the road from the Junction — 53 acres of trees that were already tall when the first settlers landed at Alki.

The forest the saws never finished

Schmitz Preserve Park exists because Ferdinand Schmitz — a German immigrant, banker, and Seattle parks commissioner — and his wife Emma watched the great forest around the young city disappear and decided to keep a piece of it. They donated the land in portions between 1908 and 1912, with the condition that it stay largely in its natural state. More than a century later, it has.

The result is one of the last stands of old-growth forest in Seattle — Douglas firs, western hemlocks, and western red cedars of the kind that once covered all of Puget Sound. Walk in and the traffic noise cuts out, the temperature drops, and the light goes green. It does not feel like you're five minutes from espresso machines and record stores. That's the whole point.

What the walk is like

About 1.7 miles of dirt trail wind through the ravine, following Schmitz Preserve Creek and its small tributaries. Expect stairs, roots, mud that outlasts the rain, and downed trees left to rot exactly where they fell, new growth coming straight up out of the old wood. Total elevation gain is a gentle 220 feet, so this is a wander, not a workout. Kids do fine. If you're patient near the muddy creek edges, look for rough-skinned newts.

Our favorite honest detail: some of the giant stumps still carry deep notches hacked into their sides. Those held the springboards loggers stood on more than a century ago — proof of exactly how close this forest came to going the way of every other one in the city.

Getting there from the house

The main entrance sits at SW Admiral Way and SW Stevens Street, about a five-minute drive north of the Junction, with street parking nearby. On foot it's closer to half an hour — pick up a coffee at Bakery Nouveau, four minutes from our door, and make the walk part of the outing.

There's a good historical pairing here, too. Ferdinand Schmitz also gave the land for Schmitz Boulevard, the 1909 parkway built to connect the forest toward the then-new bathing beach at Alki. West Seattleites have been doing beach-plus-forest days for over a century; we suggest keeping the tradition going. Alki in the sun, Schmitz in the shade, hot tub when you get home.

Know before you go

• It's free. No pass, no fee, no gate — it's a Seattle city park.
• There are no facilities. No restrooms, no paved paths, no playground. That's the charm, but plan accordingly.
• Wear real shoes. The trails are dirt, and the mud sticks around long after the last shower.
• Dogs are welcome on leash. Keep them close — stinging nettle grows along parts of the trail.
• Keep it quiet. Pack out what you bring in, and leave the forest the way the Schmitz family asked.

Current conditions and a map are on Seattle Parks' Schmitz Preserve page, and the Washington Trails Association write-up is worth a skim before you go.

Why we send guests here

Most lists of things to do in West Seattle start with Alki and end with the Junction. This is the one locals add. A West Seattle day fills up fast — the market, the beach, the bakery line — and Schmitz is the reset button in the middle of it: an hour under trees older than the city, and the whole trip slows back down to the right speed. Then it's a short hop home, where dinner is a four-minute walk away and the forest is, somehow, still right up the road.