I-5 Colonnade — Attraction in Seattle

Cool park under the interstate off of Exit 168A on I-5 Northbound just outside the Seattle city area. Lots of space and several benches throughout the park. Plenty of trails to walk. There are off-leash dog areas fenced off for your doggos to run freely. I don't recommend wearing sandals through here. There is usually broken glass on the ground in some areas. This place is also a area for people to practice their mountain biking skills. There are some flat areas but this place is on the side of a hill so there are steep areas to look out for. I did see like 2 picnic tables towards the main entrance to the park at the bottom of the hill. Not really much parking available. Also be careful walking through here after it rains or during rain. You can accidentally side down the muddy areas if you are not paying a attention. Last night I put a fire out at this park. A homeless disturbed man was yelling to himself then lit an abandoned couch on fire close to wear I parked my car. I called Seattle Fire Department and was able to put the fire out before they got there. A random good Samaritan came out of nowhere with a shovel and helped me put it out. 2 minutes later SFD arrived. Not a safe place after dark. I do not recommend walking through here alone at night without a friend, dog, flashlight of some kind or self defense weapon to protect yourself from some of the crazy people here. I was on my phone laughing at memes and this homeless person said "WHAT YOU LAUGHING AT!" Then threw something at my car. I got out and shined my flashlight at him and that's when he lit the couch on fire and walked away after he grabbed all his personal stuff. The day time is mostly safe. At night there are some very dark spots where you only see darkness. Avoid those areas. That's where someone people at night talk...

This is a brilliant idea. But in practice it's run down, dirty and dangerous. There's homeless living here, broken glass, needles, ect. You don't want to hit any of the features without rolling up to them first. Some are rotted out and downright dangerous. Most of the place is in disrepair and it's very dusty. You're better off driving to Duthie.

The features are all pretty big and there really isn't anywhere to warmup here. There is a small jump line at the top but it's just been seriously neglected. You go straight from the car to fairly large jumps. Most of which you aren't sure you can trust because of rotted wood. This is no place for a beginner and really, not a great place to progress. You do not want to fall here. There is a ton of exposed concrete on the takeoffs and landings. Plus who knows what else the 'residents' have left on the trails.

Apparently there have been efforts to rebuild this place a few times. But the homeless ruin it not long after and the city doesn't care. I've also read that they are not allowed to collect water in order to maintain the trials, so they are always dusty.

This place could be great and it is well designed. It seems like a lot of awesome people who care have put time and money into this unique place. But reckless people with no respect for anything or anyone ruin it shortly after. There's been efforts to fix it as early as 2023 but you wouldn't know it.

If this park was in Issaquah or North Bend it...

I-5 Colonnade looks sketchy, but if you really think about it, it could have been way worse.

The "park" looks bleak partly because it's completely under the highway overpass and poorly lit during any time of the day. The location is also far from neighborhood centers so often this space is just empty and quite.

On the other hand, I don't see a single homeless tent here and it's relatively clean. Considering this type of corner urban space could easily become homeless encampment site, I think the idea of utilizing this space as a park with mountain bike trails, an off-leash dog area, and long flights of steps to connect the neighborhoods on two sides is just brilliant.

I do hope people will come more often, because it's actually more fun...