Rainier Beach

Rainier Beach’s tough reputation used to be valid—no longer. Massive renovations had led to a thousand working-class residents having homes in the area , deteriorated properties began to go for affordable rates and businesses began to populate vacant properties, attracted by low rates. Rainier Beach has access to a few parks and, as the name might imply, a shoreline against Lake Washington. The parks are very inviting, especially when the weather is nice and bikers have their pick of trails that run all along the main roads. At the Hutchinson Park, you’ll find the right type of court for most popular sports, and with a Japanese-style garden with streams, ponds, and walkways called the Kubota Gardens. Lakeridge Park is slightly more on the wilderness side than other parks in the area, offering a forested trail that runs a mile around a so-called canyon. At Beer Sheva Park, there are tennis courts and an area to launch your boat into the lake, but also a children’s big toy and area to picnic in. A testament to the area’s affluence, the Rainier Yacht Club offers very pleasant facilities suitable for parties and receptions, and comes complete with a waterfront view into Lake Washington.

Located in the southeast corner of Seattle, this neighborhood continue emerge out of the ashes. Having encountered heavy crime until around 1997, business recruiting and rising housing values aided its comeback.

Rainier Beach stretches latitudinally from Beer Sheva Park to Lakeridge Park, it is longitudinally compressed between Renton Avenue South and Lake Washington.

The parks are the silver lining for this community. Starting in the north, Beer Sheva is named after Seattle's sister city in Israel. It was also previously modeled after Atlantic City in New Jersey. Picnic areas, a children's play area, tennis courts and a boat launch are some included amenities. Students can be found nearby at the Rainier Beach High School.

The Kubota Gardens are a splendid array of Japanese horticulture, with gorgeous walkways and landscaped streams and ponds. This 20 acre oasis is definitely worth the visit. Residing to the East is Hutchinson Playground where multiple sports facilities exist to entertain the kids when they tire of the Gardens.

If driving long distances for a hike with the family does not appeal, consider Lakeridge Park to the south. It features "Deadhorse Canyon", with a one mile forested trail.

The Rainier Yacht Club is a great find for parties, receptions or business functions. Some friends of ours rented this facility for their wedding reception two years ago. It has an attractive waterfront near Parkshore Marina.

Bicycle riders are welcomed and a familiar site in Rainier Beach, as the trail around Lake Washington utilizes Rainier Avenue and Seward Park Avenue.

The population is diverse, with white, black and Asian Pacific Islanders represented. Businesses are not plentiful yet, but some can be found on Rainier Avenue in the vicinity of the yacht club.

Several kinds of churches are sprinkled throughout the neighborhood, including St. Paul Parochial School.

Rainier Beach may not be attracting tourists and suburban families, but it is gradually becoming a place to invest. This is especially key when young adults are gaining passions for social justice and growing tired of the more affluent neighborhoods to the north.

Rainier Beach is a bit confusing. The neighborhood used to be really bad, with high crime and major structural issues, but what some consider Upper Rainier Beach could actually be a nice place to live. Home prices are very affordable and if the neighborhood was a little further north, you could pack on 100-200K to the price. The views are breathtaking of Lake Washington and there is some prime real estate in the Upper portion of the neighborhood.

The neighborhood consists of lots of retirees or older couples who have lived in the same home for decades. The area is small and because of this everyone seems to know everyone. The Upper portion is safe with little to no crime. Seward Park sits adjacent to Rainier Beach and offers some impressive views of the Cascades and Lake Washington. The area has some very impressive ridge built homes that overlook the water. People stick around in the neighborhood and you do not see a lot for sale. If you do, they go quickly. Some of the more modest homes inland do turn over frequently but the shoreline homes rarely move.

Rainier Beach is located just southeast of Seattle along Lake Washington and is a largely residential area. Development of the town began when it was connected to Seattle by the Rainier Valley Electric Railway in 1896, and during the period of growth throughout and after the Second World War the area was urbanized.

The neighborhood fought to overcome some seriously high crime rates and has been somewhat successful, managing to attract many middle-class Seattle workers trying to avoid high rent.

To date, this is not the best of Seattle neighborhoods, and certainly not a place for single women to reside, but it is improving significantly.