Park at Bothell Landing

9919 NE 180thh Street, Bothell 98011
425-486-7430
http://www.explorebothell.com/content/park-bothell-landing

Overall:  A
High Points:  Close to Sammamish River Trail, great views, lots of wildlife, beautiful buildings, walking distance to amenities,
Low Points:  Playground very close to parking lot, construction, two toddler/infant swings, can be crowded

     There are a lot of really nice parks on the Eastside, but there is something so charming about Bothell Landing it is almost silly.  To start with it is located super close to Bothell 's picturesque Main Street, so if you wanted to stroll over with a pastry from the bakery or a book from the library, you totally could; it is completely stroller-in-one-hand-coffee-in-the-other manageable.  Once you get to the park, you will see these colorful historic buildings and old iron school bell, plus a little gazebo, and you will be like, "Wait, is this like...a Norman Rockwell painting?"

     Yes, it pretty much is because you haven't even seen the winding river yet, complete with friendly ducks, geese and the occasional heron.  Mostly the river is inaccessible from the park except for a small sand beach where kayakers and canoers can push their boats into the water.
     The playground itself is nothing particularly special, but still fun.  There is a small plaque letting people know that it was designed for children five to twelve years, so if you have a little one, it is a good idea to keep an eye on them.  That said, Amani loves to go down the slide (with help of course), use the baby swing, and play peak-a-boo in a small pirate-shippy area.

    The only un-picturesque element of the whole Bothell Landing experience is the construction that is going on right across the street.  They are actually expanding the park and developing the whole downtown, with shopping and cafes and little pedestrian areas.  As if the whole darn place weren't cute enough.  All the development is supposed to be wrapping up in 2014, when you very may find me moving into one of the residential areas downtown.  Yeah, not even kidding; it is that cute.


Protip: If you go over the arched bridge to the Sammamish River Trail and walk to the right about a quarter of a mile, you can see where beavers have chewed downs trees and dragged them  into the river to build their dam.