The Chamber of Commerce released findings of a survey gathering information from across the U.S., from large to small cities, to see which are the most physically active. Looking at all cities overall, Bellevue, Wash. came in first with 86 percent of adults being physically active and Seattle ranked third at 84.7 percent. In their respective categories, Seattle ranked first in large cities and Bellevue ranked first in small cities.
For this survey, they used data from the “CDC Places” dataset, which measured exercising levels through activities such as running, gymnastics, golf, gardening, and more. Washington offers so many ways to be active, especially coming up in the warmer months. Starting at Bellevue College, there are many recreational activities offered through the BC Wellness Center. Alongside the BC fitness center, the college offers free fitness classes for BC students.
In the greater Seattle and Bellevue area, there are many hiking opportunities. Some popular trails are Poo Poo Point on Tiger Mountain and Mount Si, Twin Falls, Rattlesnake Ledge and Mailbox Peak in North Bend. The town of Issaquah near Bellevue has three peaks: Squawk, Cougar and Tiger. Each offers different levels of difficulty, but to avoid tourists, these peaks have perfect hiking trails avoiding Poo Poo Point. In the North Bend area, a fun trail is the Denny Creek Melakwa Lake Trail, which has a river to play in. Lastly, by Snoqualmie Pass is the beautiful Snow Lake Trail which has views of the mountains. During the colder months, skiing is popular on the mountains visible on this trail.
Heading to the water, Washington has many small lakes, some of the bigger ones being Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish which are in the Puget Sound area. Both are popular locations to swim in the water where it is common for locals and visitors to go boating and water ski, wakeboard, and tube. On Lake Washington, by going through the Ballard Locks, it leads to the Puget Sound where it is colder with rougher waters, so external boating activities are not as easy, but it is a popular kayaking area. Kayaking and paddleboarding are popular all through Lake Washington to the Sound to Lake Union. A popular place to rent kayaks and paddleboards is at the Sammamish State Park on Lake Sammamish where one can stay on the lake or easily find the Issaquah Creek.
These are just some of the many ways Seattle and Bellevue residents stay active. There are also extensive bike trails, beach volleyball at Alki Beach, and many other activities that use the natural environment to exercise in. It is no surprise with all these opportunities to be physically active that Seattle and Bellevue are ranked in the top cities in the U.S.
