Press release:
Feeling cooped up during winter’s dark, gray days of rainfall? Get out for a walk! Have a nice chat with other local folks. Get some fresh air and chase the doldrums away. (And if you have your pedometer, come see how many steps you can log toward your daily goal of 10,000.)
The forecast is for cloudy but DRY SKIES on Sunday, Feb. 3, (but raingear may be wise nonetheless). This is a FREE event and is enjoyable for all ages (including little ones in strollers).

Date: Sunday, February 3, 2013 (Rain or shine).
Time: Meet-up at 2:00. Walking starts at about 2:15.
Who: Walkers of every level and ability 
(dogs are welcome)
Place: Meet on the grassy knoll at Burien’s Town Square Park.

Route: This will be a shortened Gregory Heights Route. West on SW 152nd,
then south on Ambaum toward Gregory Heights, then looping back around to Town Square.
Distance: About 2.22 miles round trip, partly flat/partly sloping, with some sidewalks

On Saturday, February 9, WABI Burien is walking with the Feet First event, Seattle Stairway Walks.

With a mix of urban history and lore, Seattle Stairway Walks uncover the blooms and birds of Seattle’s green spaces, the legacy of the city’s neighborhood activism, it’s turn-of-the-century logging roots, quirky art scenes, architectural icons, and cosmopolitan neighborhoods of today.

Urban explorers are invited to join one of fifteen fun and FREE guided neighborhood walks ranging in location from Burien to Fremont, Queen Anne to Bellevue, and everywhere in between. Burien’s contribution to the day explores Eagle Landing Park and its 289 steps down to the shore… and back up again.

Feet First is a nonprofit organization working to ensure all communities in Washington are walkable. This event is coordinated by Feet First and features exclusive walks from the new book by Cathy & Jake Jaramillo “Seattle Stairway Walks: An Up-and-Down Guide to City Neighborhoods”.

Burien’s Eagle Landing stairway walk description from the Jaramillo book:
“Extraordinary Eagle Landing Park sits right above the Sound in a quiet, woodsy residential part of Burien. The single up-and-down trail passes a viewing area where you can search for the eagle’s nest somewhere high among the Douglas Firs. We’ll quickly reach the one major stairway, which is the fourth-longest of all Seattle stairs. Its unique steel structure floats through the trees, above the fragile and slipping hillside. At the bottom, we’ll be treated to views of Vashon and Maury Islands across the Sound, and Three Tree Point southward down the beach.” (Please be aware that heavy storms have damaged the last half dozen stairs preventing access to the beach itself. The neighboring slope is a fragile ecosystem and walkers are told NOT to access the beach by scrambling down the hillside next to the damaged stairs.)

After you finish climbing back UP the 289 stairs, you’ll find lots of eating, drinking and strolling opportunities in downtown Burien.
Walk Leader: WABI Burien

Stats: 0.4 miles: 289 steps down and 289 steps up. (The metal steps are reached by a winding dirt path which starts at the park’s trailhead.)
When: Saturday, February 9, 2013. Walkers should gather at 9:45. All walks begin at 10 a.m. and end at 12 pm.

Where: Burien’s walk will BEGIN AT LAKE BURIEN PARK, 14640 18th Ave. (due to sparse parking at Eagle Landing Park). We will walk 6 blocks west along SW 149th St. until it curves around onto 25th Ave. SW and the entrance to Eagle Landing Park, 14641 25th Ave. SW.

Please read this important note: This walking event is FREE though REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. The event is presented by Feet First and they require that walkers sign a liability waiver and photo release (permission to be photographed and published) in order to participate. Online registration includes acceptance of their terms. Some waiver/release forms will be available on the day of the walk for those unable to register online.

See http://www.seattlestairwaywalks.com/ for more information about the book.The Stairway Walks Day is made possible by Feet First Neighborhood Walking Ambassadors, staff, volunteers, Board and Committee members, and partner organizations Outdoors NW, WABI Burien, and Seattle Parks & Recreation’s Sound Steps.

Feet First is a nonprofit organization working to ensure all communities in Washington are walkable. Learn more at http://feetfirst.org/act/stairway-walks.For more information, please contact Darcy Edmunds by emailing darcy@feetfirst.org or calling 206-652-2310, ext. 5. The walks are free. Space on each walk is limited to 20 participants, please RSVP in advance.