Hidden Gems
While showstopping Kirkland parks like Houghton Beach, Juanita Bay and Marina Park tend to capture a lot of the limelight, Kirkland’s authentic beauty is deeply enhanced by its lesser traveled parklands and natural areas. These quiet, still spaces breathe life, and are often filled with history, beauty, and mystery.
Discreetly tucked into a quiet, north Kirkland neighborhood, Edith Moulton Park is a lush, 26-acre old-growth conifer forest that offers vibrant green thickets, an ambling creek, interpretive trails, children’s play equipment, accessible walkways, a covered picnic area, and its very own off-leash dog park. This former farm site was donated to the King County in the 1960s by Edith Moulton, who wanted her home to become a place where kids could discover the beauty of nature. Annexed by the City of Kirkland in 2011, Edith Moulton Park underwent a dramatic renovation process in 2018 and is available for all to enjoy!
Watershed Park is a one-of-a-kind 73-acre park that features a creek, wooded trails, commanding views of Mount Rainier, and more. The park is home to an intriguing crumbling waterworks, as it was once a source of fresh water to Houghton and the surrounding area. Parkgoers will enjoy circling the mossy old reservoir and will find other remnants of an earlier time as they explore the lower portion of the trail system.
Located in Kirkland’s Market neighborhood, this tiny lakeside park offers a gorgeous place to have a picnic, along with a short trail leading to a private beach. Kiwanis Park is small but mighty, preserved in the 1970s thanks to a herculean community effort to save the nearly three-acre natural shoreline area from development. Kiwanis Park is filled with surprises! On any given day, you might find local volunteers laboring to remove invasive species, or a group of Kirkland firefighters honing their rescue swimming skills.