Madrona and Leschi
There's a treasure trove of stairways and greenspaces atop the bluff next to Lake Washington, between the SR520 and I-90 bridges. In this area in 1891, an electric trolley line opened up the Madrona neighborhood for development (see photo below). It approached from the west along E Cherry Street, then turned north up 34th Avenue, along today's little commercial village. It then turned east and down a heavily wooded canyon toward Lake Washington, along what is now Madrona Drive.
Unless you decide to stop in for a break, on this route you don't even pass through the commercial village at all. Instead you'll roam elsewhere, finding discreet stairs and passageways with lake-spanning vistas, gorgeous old homes and beautiful volunteer-supported greenspaces.
Additional pictorial content, referenced in the book, is contained in the slideshow below (indicated by the "www" icon). You can see several more views from the walk below that.
Madrona trolley turnaround and maintenance shed (University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, Lee 11); in Seattle, commercial and residential development followed newly placed trolley lines like this one
The 38th Avenue stairs - 137 steps down to Newport Way (and the cover image of our book)
The Spring Street stairs
Madrona Park shoreside
Toward the end of the walk: up the Columbia Street stairs
Leschi, Leschi Natural area, Madrona, Madrona Woods | Jake Jaramillo 
Reader Comments (5)
I am so excited for this!
Thanks, great write up!
This is great! Several of us jog the Newport Way stairs on a regular basis. Thanks for giving us an extra step (by my count it's 136). We live in one of the Mignery houses on the stone wall along lower Grand and Spring Streets, right on your route. Junius has some history of the houses in his book.
And please add Bottlehouse to your list of recommendations for the Madrona business district. After all those stairs, a glass of Madrona wine will be in order!
Paul Beveridge
We walked this today, it was a blast. When it's warmer we'll return and do the side trip and explore the woods.
This was yet another terrific urban hike. One additional feature I'd like to share: at the Northwest corner of the intersection of 38th Ave. and Columbia Street E., where you emerge from the Madrona Woods, is a lovely Peace Park. Open to the public, and entered from Columbia Street, it contains formal gardens, a lovely water feature, and commanding views of Mount Rainier to the south. A labor of love by the owner of the adjacent property, this park is a wonderful place to reflect, and to catch one's breath.