Morningside Park

Location: Yarrow Point.

Length: About a quarter-mile.

Level of difficulty: Level to steep (rough trails, steep and muddy in places).

Setting: This modest hillside park of about eight acres, so-named because it faces east, slopes steeply down to the 50-acre wetlands at the head of Yarrow Bay. A simple tangle of short trails, this forested walk is more of a child's jungle adventure than a long stroll, but the area's rich history adds an intriguing dimension.

Highlights: Native Americans utilized Yarrow Bay as a fishing camp, and Indian graves were supposedly located in the area now occupied by the park. The east side of Yarrow Point was logged in the spring of 1907. Points Drive was originally a skid road, along which logs were dragged by oxen to the lake for transport. An early resident described having to open and close a big farm gate on what is now Northeast 40th Street on her way to school, since Yarrow Point was fenced to keep out roaming cattle. Yarrow Bay once extended further to the south. When the construction of the locks and Ship Canal in 1916-17 lowered the water level of Lake Washington by about nine feet, the lakebed now comprising the wetlands was uncovered.

Facilities: Restrooms inside the adjacent town hall on weekdays, however, parking is best when offices are closed.

Restrictions: No bikes. Pets not recommended. Stinging nettles in a few places.

Directions: Head east on Highway 520 from Seattle over Lake Washington. Exit at 84th Avenue Northeast (the first Eastside exit). At the stop sign at the end of the exit ramp, proceed straight along Points Drive. Turn left onto 92nd Ave Northeast, cross over 520, and eventually turn right on Northeast 40th Street. Turn left on 95th Avenue Northeast, and the park is ahead on the right. From westbound Highway 520, exit at 92nd Avenue Northeast (the last Eastside exit). Turn right on 92nd Avenue Northeast and proceed as above.

More information: 425-454-6994

— Cathy McDonald, special to The Seattle Times

Cathy McDonald is coauthor with Stephen Whitney of "Nature Walks In and Around Seattle," with photographs by James Hendrickson (The Mountaineers, second edition, 1997).