Welcome to beautiful Green Lake!!
When we decided to make the move from Southern Oregon to Seattle we searched all over for our new place to call home. We knew we wanted to be close to water, have plenty of food options, be near public transportation, have entertainment options, and be able to see great sights. The Green Lake neighborhood had all these things and quickly became the focus of our search. We are now happy locals who love to visit beautiful Green Lake almost daily!
Green Lake is a freshwater lake in north central Seattle, Washington, within Green Lake Park. The park is surrounded by the Green Lake neighborhood to the north and east, the Wallingford neighborhood to the south, the Phinney Ridge neighborhood to the west, and Woodland Park to the southwest. It is a glacial lake, its basin having been dug 50,000 years ago by the Vashon glacier, which also created Lake Washington, Union, Bitter and Haller Lakes.
History and Information
Green Lake was given its modern name by David Phillips, who surveyed the area in September 1855 for the United States Surveyor General. His first notes referred to it as "Lake Green" because even in its natural state the lake is prone to algae blooms. The Duwamish called it dxWTLusH, a Lushootseed word of unknown meaning.
The lake has a surface area of 259 acres (1.05 km2), a mean depth of 13 feet (3.8 m), and a maximum depth of 30 feet (9.1 m). The lake has been dredged in order to maintain its depth. Green Lake lacks both surface water inflows and outflows. It once drained into Lake Washington via Ravenna Creek, but in 1911 the water level was lowered by 7 feet (2.1 m) to create parkland, causing the creek to dry up between Green Lake and Cowen Park. Ravenna Boulevard and its wide, grassy median were constructed over the creek bed. The lake is now fed by rainfall, storm runoff, and Seattle's municipal water supply.
The area was originally homesteaded by various pioneers, the first being Erhart Sarfried, "Green Lake John." Sarfried subdivided his homestead in 1888 and sold the land to various entrepreneurs. W.D. Wood built an "amusement park" on the west side of the lake (which never amounted to more than a glorified lawn for picnics). On the east side of the lake, A.L. Parker logged the woods and built a sawmill. Edward C. Kilbourne built the first trolley line connecting the area to the city, the route of which is now Green Lake Way North. The trolley lines kept growing, until by 1910 they extended completely around the lake and a round trip could be made on a separate line going back to the city.
Green Lake is surrounded by a 2.8 mi (4.5 km) path. The path is divided into an outer unpaved trail, and an inner asphalt path with two lanes, one for pedestrians and one for bicycles, roller skates, and other wheeled unmotorized vehicles. The outer path is unidirectional, counterclockwise, and inner pedestrian lane is unidirectional, counterclockwise due to the pandemic. The path attracts people seeking exercise and relaxation, and can be crowded. There is also an outer non-paved 3.2 mi (5.1 km) path along the edge of the park.
The information above was taken from Wikipedia. For more information about Green Lake, check out the link here: Green Lake (Seattle)
Logging Requirements:
- The posted coordinates will bring you to an informational sign with some black and white photos of Green Lake Views. Your goal is to visit the sign and snap a pic/selfie with the lake in the background. This can be a picture with the docks, the trees, the animals that call it home, whatever you prefer on your visit. We're simply asking for selfie of you and your favorite view in the background as proof that you visited beautiful Green Lake. (NOTE: If you don't want to be in the photo yourself, please include a sign with your caching name and date, thanks!) Any of these will work for verifying you made the visit to Green Lake to claim this virtual cache.
- Include the photo with your 'Found' log.
Key notes to keep in mind:
- Cache finds and logs that do not include a photo of the visit will be removed - if that happens (hopefully not), I'll send a message/email with an explanation.
- Visiting the cache and taking a photo from that visit is required to log the cache - Please don't try and use any past photos from your a visit to the lake. Green Lake is beautiful year-round and it's scenery changes with each season. Plan for a new visit to claim this cache please and thanks!
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.