Big Finn Hill Park
Quiet Alternative to St Edward State Park
Quick Facts:
Location: Kirkland
Land Agency: King County Parks
Distances: up to 9.5 miles of trails
Elevation Gain: up to 200 feet
Contact: King County Parks
Detailed Information: Urban Trails Eastside (Mountaineers Books)
Notes: parking area on NE 138th Street gated at dusk
Access: From Kenmore follow 68th Ave NE which becomes Juanita Drive NE for 2.5 miles south. Then turn left onto NE 138th Street and continue for 0.2 mile to parking and trailhead.
Via Transit: King County Metro routes 234, 244
Good to Know: kid-friendly, snow free winter hikes, dog-friendly
Bordering popularSt. Edward State Park, Big Finn Hill King County Park tends to be much quieter. Visited primarily by mountain bikers, the trails here also make excellent running routes. And despite being on Big Finn Hill, most of the trails are pretty gentle with little elevation gain, making them perfect for easy strolls.
Juanita Drive NE bisects Big Finn Hill Park’s 220 acres. The eastern part of the park is developed with playfields, play equipment, big parking lots and access to two schools. The trails in this section skirt buildings, roads, and developed areas of the park. The western section of park is much more alluring, with attractive forest, a hillier topography and a larger trail network. There is a trail that connects the two sections but use caution crossing busy Juanita Drive NE.
The park’s trail system can be confusing. The online map however is pretty accurate. If you are good at map reading it will come in handy. Junctions are numbered. However only a handful of them are signed. The park isn’t very large though so if you get lost it will only be for a short moment. Do be aware of mountain bikers on the trails and shy away from trails better designed for them—the ones with challenge courses and bike skill areas.
In the park’s western section—you can put in quite a few miles. From near the parking areas along NE 138th Place is a major trailhead complete with kiosk. Here the Maintenance Access Trail heads directly down the middle of this park section terminating at NE 132nd Street. This trail is about a half mile long and connects to many other trails. It also passes through an old orchard with a picnic table. On the north side of NE 138th Place, two trails of about .2 mile each head north connecting to trails within St. Edward State Park. You’ll know you reached the park when the forest suddenly transitions to older and statelier trees. There are more than 6 miles of trails to explore in that park if you need more room to roam!
For more details on this hike and 59 others on Seattle’s Eastside—from Mercer Island to North Bend—pick up a copy of my Urban Trails Eastside book, (Mountaineers Books).
