An Afternoon in Maple Leaf
Maple Leaf? What’s “Maple Leaf”??? Perhaps I’m wrong, and you totally know where Maple Leaf is, but just in case: it’s a cute little neighborhood north of Green Lake and south of Northgate on the east side of I-5. Fun fact: It was awarded the title “Top Neighborhood of the Year” in 1986 by Neighborhoods USA. So of course my husband and I had to buy our first house here! And despite the fact that it had been 20 years since this impressive recognition, we still loved living in this area of Seattle. Since we’ve left, the “kid friendly” factor has increased tenfold after they built a huge park over what used to be a reservoir. Since Seattle neighborhoods typically tend to move away from the “kid friendly” side, rather than towards it, Maple Leaf is a great Seattle area to check out with a young family. Read on for an adventure to Maple Leaf.
General Itinerary:
3:30 – Arrive in Maple Leaf and park near Snappy Dragon – roughly Roosevelt Way NE & NE 89th St
3:30 – Walk/Bike/Scoot south on Roosevelt Way towards Reservoir Park, pop into Cloud City Coffee for a treat
3:45 – Continue along to Reservoir Park – total distance from Snappy Dragon is 0.3 miles, or a 5 minute walk
3:50-4:30 – Explore the playground at the lower park
4:30-5:00 – Walk/Bike/Scoot a couple times around the paved pathway loop at the upper park
5:00 – Head back up the hill for dinner at Snappy Dragon (yum!!!)
6:30 – Hit up Molly Moon’s Ice Cream in Wallingford on your way out of town
Bring:
Bikes or Scooters & Helmets – the outer path at the upper park is paved, but there are some off-shoot paths that are gravel and won’t work for scooters
Stroller for little legs – 2 times around the path is almost a mile. So with this and the walk from the car you’re looking at about 1.5 miles of walking
Water Bottles
Your Pickle Ball paddles (if you have them… I actually do, but I’m fairly sure they’ve never been used…) or a Basketball, football, or Soccer ball to utilize the courts and fields at the upper park
Don’t Bring:
Snacks – don’t you dare fill up on gold fish when there’s so much good food to be had!
Your Dog – unless the weather supports leaving her in the car during dinner. No outside seating at Snappy Dragon
Weather:
This outing will be great on any non-rainy day
Details:
I don’t know about you, but big kid activities are really stifling my attempts to take family adventures these days. We’re in the throws (pun intended!) of baseball season right now, and it completely absorbs our spring Saturdays (and Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays…). But when life gets so busy, this small outing might be just the ticket for some quick and quality family time – you can head out midafternoon and still fit in something that is both kid friendly and mouth watering!
Once you arrive in Maple Leaf look for parking along Roosevelt Way NE near Snappy Dragon (roughly Roosevelt Way NE & NE 89th St). And now the age old question: to bike or scoot?? I lean towards scooters here. That’s just because Roosevelt Way is a major road, that both cars and city buses move pretty quickly along. Your walk towards the park will be completely downhill, and I feel like kids have a bit more control on their scooters. With that said, it would be slightly better to have bikes at the park, because there are both paved and gravel trails. Having a bike will give the kids more opportunities to explore. So this is totally a judgment call – another option would be to bring bikes, but walk them to the park. It’s just a 3-4 block walk.
Regardless of your mode of transportation, pop into Cloud City Coffee for a treat and a bathroom break before you continue onto Reservoir Park. We like to head to the lower playground area first for a bit of swinging, climbing, and zip lining! After a bit of time on the upper park trails my kids are usually ready to be done, so getting the playground first works best for our family. But this is a great (and new!) playground that has something for everyone. There are also bathrooms just adjacent to the playground.
Once everyone has sufficiently explored the playground, head back up the hill for a couple laps around the upper park. The visibility is really good here, so we let our kids venture out a little ahead of us with a specific instruction on where to stop and wait: ride to the garbage can and then wait there for a high five from mom. There are also pickle ball courts, basketball courts, and grassy fields if you’ve got that gear with you. Each lap around the outer loop is just under 1/2 a mile. If it’s a clear day, be sure to stop in the south east corner to take in the gorgeous view of Mt. Rainier.
When your tummies start to growl, head back up the hill, throw your bikes in the car, and march right into Snappy Dragon for dinner. Our first house was less than 2 blocks from this place – we ate here weekly… at least…
Say it with me: When in Rome: Pizza. When in Maple Leaf: Snappy Dragon.
Or: when in Maple Leaf, Green Lake, Wedgewood, or really any Northeast Seattle neighborhood: Snappy Dragon!!!!!
It’s so good. And I’m definitely not the only one who thinks this – so you don’t just have to take my word for it.
But if you do want to take my word – you MUST get the pan browned Pork Pot Stickers and the handmade Chow Mein Noodles. We also really like: Pork Jiao-zi (boiled dumplings), Szechwan Garlic Chicken, General Tso’s Chicken – basically, just over order. You’ll be happy to have the leftovers tomorrow!
It’s a casual spot and they do a good job keeping it kid friendly. But they also serve beer, wine, and cocktails – phew!
(As of February 2023 the dining room is still closed from Covid and they’re still just doing take out. But no worries! Just take your food home!)
Now at this point you’ll probably be beyond stuffed. But if you can find an empty corner in your stomach stop into Molly Moon’s on 45th in Wallingford before you head out of town. Only caveat here would be if it’s a warm summer day: the line will be wrapped around the corner for their delicious ice cream and you may not be up for that with your little ones. But if it sounds good, do a secret drive by and make a game-time decision based on how it looks. I love their Honey Lavender flavor and it’s just perfect after all that yummy Chinese from Snappy.
So there you have it – Maple Leaf! And now you can say you had an adventure to the best neighborhood in the country… well in 1986, at least!
Links:
Cloud City Coffee: https://www.cloudcitycoffee.com/
Maple Leaf Reservoir Park: https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/maple-leaf-reservoir-park
Snappy Dragon: http://snappydragon.com/index.html
Molly Moon’s: https://www.mollymoon.com/
Destination Addresses:
Snappy Dragon:
8917 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115
Molly Moon’s:
