Sqebeqsed & Perimeter Loop Trails (Seward Park)

We live near Seward Park and go there so often that we actually forgot to add it to Rolling Washington when we first created it. And yet it’s not something to be taken for granted — Seward Park is truly spectacular, and a great place to visit in a wheelchair.

The 3 mile Perimeter Loop Trail is probably one of our most frequented trails. The view of Mt. Rainier on the south side of the Seward Park mini-peninsula is worth it alone. Even on cloudy days its a great walk & roll, as the trail hugs the lake shore the entire way.

Less traversed but just as unique for an urban park is the interior trail with the hard-to-pronounce name “Sqebeqsed.” It can be accessed by driving up the hill from the main entrance and parking either near picnic shelters 4 and 5 or further along the road (enlarge the picture of the trail map below and look for where it says “Upper Trailhead.”) This trail goes through the woods with lots of (narrower and less accessible) offshoots.

Key stats:

Distance: The Sqebeqsed trail is about 1.2 miles long. The Perimeter Loop trail is 2.6 miles long.

Wheelchair accessible parking? Yes, in the lower parking lots. The upper road is wide and not very trafficked so its fairly easy to unload a wheelchair.

Wheelchair accessible bathrooms? Yes, near the playground in the lower part of the park

Trail condition? Fairly wide trail, hard-packed gravel for Sqebeqsed. The Perimeter Loop is paved and very wide (20 ft?). It’s also very popular and can get crowded on sunny weekends especially.

Highlights? Seward Park has more old-growth trees than anywhere in the Seattle area. You can roll right up to some of these giants along the Sqebeqsed trail. Just a few hundred feet into this trail you suddenly feel like you’re deep in the forest and far from the city… even as its just a few miles from downtown Seattle

More information about Seward Park here and here.

Sqebeqsed trail