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* Seattle Channel's City Stream: Seattle Stairways (2016) 

* KPLU 88.1 "Tourist in Your Own Town" - Mount Baker Stairway Walk (2013)

* KING 5 Evening Magazine - Discover the Secret Stairways of Seattle (2013)

* KUOW News - The Hidden Legacy of Seattle Stairways (2013)

* AAA Journey - Last Stop: Stair Attraction (2012)

* Seattle Times - Guidebook Authors Show Ups and Downs. . . (2012)

Feet First - Seattle Walkability Advocates

* Sound Steps - Great Walking Groups for Over-50s!

* WalkOn inBellWa! - Walking Routes in Bellevue's Parks and Neighborhoods

Inventory of Seattle Stairs of 100 Steps or More website by Doug Beyerlein

* All Stairs Seattle Guide website by Susan Ott & Dave Ralph

* Year of Walking Seattle's Parks blog by Linnea Westerlind

*KOMO News - Year of Mapping Seattle's Stairs (2011)

*Seattle Times -  Queen Anne Stairways Map (2009)

* Washington Trails Association Magazine -  Urban Hiking (2007)

* Seattle Times - Seattle Stairways: Taking Time to Learn More About the City (2003)

* Seattle Weekly - Stairway Weekend (1999)

The Mountaineers as well as our publisher, Mountaineers Books

Seattle Stairway Walks: An Up-and-Down Guide to City Neighborhoods 

by Jake & Cathy Jaramillo

* The only guidebook to stairway walks in Seattle
* Explore Seattle neighborhoods in a new way with these interesting walks in Seattle
* Written for people of all ages who want to get outside, exercise, and explore
*Learn more --> 


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Entries in fish ladder (1)

Saturday
Nov012014

A Stairway for Salmon!

This morning we walked about three miles from our house in West Seattle to Fauntleroy Creek, which empties into the Sound just south of Lincoln Park and the ferry dock. In 1991, as part of Seattle Public Utilities' "Salmon in the Schools" program, local elementary school students and adult volunteers made the first annual release of salmon fry into Fauntleroy Creek. By 1994, they began to count mature fish as they returned to their "creek home" to spawn. 

An 11 foot high tide would give the fish a good head start into the creek, so we were hopeful and excited. Nineteen Coho Salmon have already been spotted since October 25th, including several lone males and 5 breeding pair. As it happened, we didn't get to see any salmon ourselves, but we did get the chance to explore a major part of the Fauntleroy Creek watershed we weren't even aware of before, including a stairway - for fish!

The fish ladder at Fauntleroy Creek was opened by Seattle Public Utilities in 1998 to enable more fish to make the 7-foot climb up from the beach at Fauntleroy Cove. The ladder consists of 4 underground pools, a 200-foot culvert, and an 8-pool fish ladder - which we think of as an 8-step "fish stairway!"

The slides below feature views from our walk today. Most are pictures of Fauntleroy Creek along a section that must be accessed through private property (it's not normally open to visitors, but this weekend was an exception). However there is an elevated public viewing area from which you can view both the creek and the Sound. To find it, take a look at the map for Chapter 16's "Fauntleroy and Morgan Junction" route, if you have the book. Just south of the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal pictured at the bottom of the map, you'll see a small stairway going up from Fauntleroy Way SW to SW Director Street (the latter is unnamed on the map). At the top of the stairs turn right.

There's a bit of Fall color in the slides below, and one photo updates a previous posting on the big Combined Sewage Outflow project along the "Fauntleroy and Morgan Junction" route.

Enjoy!