Lace up your walking shoes and brush up on your Norwegian. Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Sound Steps Program and the Seattle-Bergen Sister City Association are co-sponsoring the 9th Annual Seven Hills Walk on Saturday, May 19.

This free guided walk, which spans 6.5 miles and features an elevation gain of 900 feet, stops at each of Seattle’s original seven hills to examine some Scandinavian (and not so Scandinavian) landmarks:

Queen Anne Hill, Seattle’s favorite viewpoint
Denny Hill, featuring Denny Park the Old Norway Hall
Capitol Hill, home to Seven Hills Park
Renton Hill – or Second Hill
First Hill, also known as Pill Hill
Yesler Hill, known to some as Profanity Hill
Beacon Hill, home of a former Marine hospital and Dr. Jose Rizal Park.

The walk starts at 9 a.m. at Kerry Park and Viewpoint, 211 W Highland Dr. Walkers will enjoy narration along the way by guides knowledgeable about Seattle’s history, and the group will stop for lunch at Swedish Medical Center (limited lunch menu on Saturdays), or participants can bring their own lunch.

The walk will end at Beacon Hill at around 3 p.m., and Metro buses will return the group to Kerry Park and Viewpoint. Please remember to bring a bus pass or money.

Bus service: From downtown Seattle, take Metro route 2 or 13 to Queen Anne Ave. N and Highland Dr., then walk west for two blocks to Kerry Park and Viewpoint. For route and schedule information, please go to http://metro.kingcounty.gov/.

For more information on the walk, please call Dan Kaylor at 206-782-5374. For more information on Sound Steps, please go to http://www.seattle.gov/parks/seniors/soundsteps.htm.

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