Dog walkers may want to pick up doggie rain gear as the weather in Lower Queen Anne is rainy for much of the year. While summer months are dry, warm, and ideal for trips with your furry friend, spring, fall, and winter are wet. Winter precipitation, when coupled with cold temperatures near or below the freezing mark, can turn to snow and sleet, making for treacherous walking conditions on icy walkways and hills. Wait for thawing with daytime heating and wear good footwear to avoid slips and falls.
Lower Queen Anne has beautiful, vintage single-family dwellings to the north going up the hill and multi-story apartment buildings in the main section at the base. The northern section is heavily landscaped with lots of private properties featuring beautiful gardens and trees. The commercial and more heavily developed urban area has less landscaping, although buildings provide shade to the streetscape. There are sidewalks throughout the region providing safe, separate walkways for pedestrians and pets.
The main area is heavily trafficked and you will need to be careful crossing busy intersections. Elliot Bay on the west side provides waterfront greenways, but train tracks in the area present a barrier and need to be crossed at designated pedestrian ways.
There are numerous smaller neighborhood and recreational parks in Lower Queen Anne, but if you want a larger greenway, Centennial and Myrtle Edwards Park are contiguous along the waterfront. Centennial Park is 11 acres with plenty of shoreline access and a bike and pedestrian trail running through it. From the trail, there are fantastic views of the water and the mountains. Wildlife such as blue herons, seals, and sea lions can sometimes be seen along the shore.
Myrtle Edwards Park to the south is 4.8 acres and has a continuation of the waterfront trail.