Feeling the need for a little peace and tranquility in your Seattle vacation? If so, you're in luck, because Seattle has peace and tranquility coming out its...
...well, let's just say that Seattle has a bucketload of places for you to get your zen groove on. Take the Washington Park Arboretum, for example. 230 acres of land in the middle of the city, jam packed with a botanist's dream of more than 5,000 kinds of trees and plants.
If you're the type that gets excited when you read, "Noteworthy are North America's largest collection of Sorbus and Maple, the second largest collection of species Hollies and significant collections of oaks, conifers and camellias," then you're going to love this place!
If not, you're going to love this place too, just maybe not for quite the same reasons.
You can drive through the Arboretum, but don't short change yourself. Park in one of the many parking areas along the road and start exploring the walking paths that criss-cross through the woods. It's hard to believe you're in the middle of the city.
The north end of the Arboretum butts up on a small inlet from Lake Washington, and in the summer you will often see people moseying across the water in canoes rented from the University of Washington Waterfront Activities Center. And ducks, of course. Lots of ducks.
You can find directions and a trail map on the Arboretum web site.
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
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