King County City High Points in Puget Sound by Lake Union / 金縣市鎮高點

  • Reading time:8 mins read

King County city high points in Puget Sound mark 39 incorporated areas‘ highest spots. They extend east to Maloney Benchmark in Skykomish to Baldy Hill in Enumclaw. But Milton is off the list because its tallest point sits in Pierce County.

King County city high points: Duvall high point
King County city high points: Duvall high point

See more trip photos here.

King County City High Points at a Glance

Access: Streets and freeways
Round Trip: 142 miles (including 4 miles on foot)
Elevation Range: 412′-655′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes

The Preface

The rainy morning had me decide to hike tomorrow instead. It turned sunny before noon but didn’t leave much time to go into the mountains. So we checked out more city high points inspired by yesterday’s trip.

At first glance, most places were either in the middle of the city or by a water tower. So I mapped out a route over north King County. Then we set off for Carnation and worked our way through the back roads.

Highway 18 pullout by Tiger Summit
Carnation high point

See more trip photos here.

King County City High Point Summary (Order of Visits)

High PointCityLocation
Carnation High PointCarnationprivate home
Duvall High PointDuvallprivate home
Redmond High PointRedmondreservoir boundary
Woodinville High PointWoodinvilleresidential street
Inglemoor BenchmarkKenmorereservoir boundary
Bothell High PointBothellresidential street
Horizon ViewLake Forest Parkreservoir boundary
The HighlandsShorelineprivate home
High PointSeattleprivate home
Highline HillBurienprivate home
Gregory HeightsNormandy Parkprivate home
Des Moines High PointDes Moinesresidential street
McMicken HeightsSeaTacschool
Tukwila High PointTukwilaprivate home
Renton High PointRentonprivate home
King County city high points

In a Nutshell

Eight of the 15 King County city high points fell in people’s homes. Then four were by a reservoir or a water tower, one in school, and three were on the street. But we drove by the nearest road for the ones on private property.

It didn’t surprise me that half of the places were on private land. So standing on the exact spot on the map would not be possible. Most people wouldn’t bother knocking on doors with much likelihood of rejection.

Inglemoor Benchmark
Inglemoor Benchmark

See more trip photos here.

New Discoveries

In the past, I’d driven through these cities but on the major routes. So going into pockets of new-to-me neighborhoods was intriguing. But other than the water towers, most had been in some form of gentrification.

Redmond and Horizon View of King County city high points required walking. So I got a whopping four miles on foot between them. I also parked the car and went up to the ones with a water tower for photos.

King County city high points: High Point in West Seattle
King County city high points: High Point in West Seattle

See more trip photos here.

The End

I haven’t spent much time west of Lake Union since I moved to the east side. Overall, the list gives folks something to do on a rainy day. It’s also an excellent way to check out new places in the Puget Sound area.

It would be awesome to see these spots in their original form before the urban sprawl. But it’s hard to picture what things looked like before the bulldozers went through the land, flattening everything in sight.

Renton high point
Renton high point

See more trip photos here.

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