Looking for the best parks and outdoor spots in Redmond? On Seattle’s Eastside, Redmond is an outdoor-and-cycling haven built around a major park, river trails, and forested ridges. This local guide covers Redmond’s marquee parks and green spaces, its trails and outdoor recreation, neighborhood gems, and how to find where locals actually go to get outside.

Redmond’s best parks & green spaces

Marymoor Park — a huge regional park at the north end of Lake Sammamish — is Redmond’s outdoor centerpiece, with a velodrome, climbing rock, off-leash dog area, and concert venue. The Redmond Watershed Preserve and Farrel-McWhirter Park (a working farm park) add forest and open space.

Trails, waterfronts & outdoor recreation in Redmond

Redmond is known as the “Bicycle Capital of the Northwest” — the Sammamish River Trail and East Lake Sammamish Trail offer miles of paved riding and running, and Marymoor’s velodrome is a cycling landmark. Lake Sammamish supports paddling, and the Watershed Preserve offers trail running.

Neighborhood parks & hidden gems

Idylwood Beach Park on Lake Sammamish, the Bear Creek and Evans Creek trails, and the quiet Watershed Preserve loops are local favorites away from Marymoor’s crowds. To see how the areas connect, check our guide to the best neighborhoods in Redmond.

What to know about Redmond parks

Marymoor charges a small parking fee and hosts big events — check the calendar. The trails connect widely and are car-optional. Pacific Northwest rain means year-round green; bring layers. Lake Sammamish is warm enough to swim in summer.

Where Redmond locals actually go outdoors

The best-kept outdoor secrets — the quiet trailhead, the uncrowded picnic spot, the park that’s perfect right now — usually come from locals, not brochures. On Neighborhood Nurturers’ Redmond community, real Redmond neighbors share their favorite outdoor spots and what’s worth visiting this season. For more ideas, see our guide to the best things to do in Redmond. Join your Redmond neighbors free and discover the best local outdoor spots →

Fitting it into a day in Redmond

The parks and trails here are where neighbors actually spend their weekends, each with its own character. What sets Redmond apart is how close everything sits together. Start near Marymoor Park, work in one of the spots from this guide, and you are minutes from the Redmond Central Connector trail if you want to keep going. Locals often round out time outdoors with a detour to the Sammamish River Trail or a quieter stop at Idylwood Beach. Because the distances are short, you can improvise as you go rather than lock the whole day down in advance.

More Redmond guides

Redmond rewards people who dig a little deeper. These related guides map the same neighborhoods from different starting points: Dog-friendly Redmond, Things to do in Redmond, Free things to do in Redmond — enough to plan a whole day or two.

Get a local’s take

Guides are a starting point; the current, on-the-ground details come from people who live in Redmond. Hours shift, favorites change, and residents always know what is genuinely worth it now. Ask Redmond neighbors directly or join your town community free to hear from real locals.

Marymoor Park — 640 acres, and Washington’s only velodrome

Marymoor Park at 6046 West Lake Sammamish Parkway NE is the reason Redmond punches well above its size on parks. It covers 640 acres and holds facilities a city of 80,000 would never build on its own — because it is a King County regional park serving the whole county rather than a municipal one.

The velodrome is the headline: Marymoor has the only velodrome in Washington, a 400-metre banked track for bicycle racing with programmes for riders of every level, not just competitors.

The off-leash dog park is 40 acres — with trails, open fields and river access, which is why dog owners drive here from across the Eastside and Seattle. Confirm King County’s current rules and any advisories before a first visit.

There is also a 30-foot climbing wall, a playground, extensive open fields, and access to the Sammamish River Trail.

In summer the park becomes the Eastside’s outdoor venue: the Marymoor Live concert series and outdoor movie nights. Check whether an event is on before planning a quiet walk — it changes the whole park, including parking. Full detail in the Marymoor Park guide.

The Sammamish River Trail

The Sammamish River Trail runs through Redmond and connects the city into the wider regional trail network. It is flat, paved and continuous, which makes it genuinely useful for running and cycling rather than only for a stroll.

This is a large part of why Redmond’s claim to be the “Bicycle Capital of the Northwest” holds up — the trail, the velodrome at Marymoor, and the city’s annual bike race and parade together amount to real infrastructure rather than a slogan.

For anyone arriving by light rail, the trail is the practical way to continue: Downtown Redmond station opened in May 2025, and a train-then-bike day works well here.

Neighborhood parks and the bike park

Beyond the regional park, Redmond maintains a network of neighborhood parks across the city — a genuine part of what residents get for the area’s housing costs.

The Redmond Bike Park is worth knowing about specifically, and it fits the city’s cycling identity: purpose-built terrain rather than a general-purpose park.

We are not publishing a park-by-park list of facilities. Amenities change with renovations and seasonal closures, and such a list is wrong within a year — it sends you to a fenced-off playground. What is durable is the structure above: a 640-acre regional park with unusual facilities, a regional trail running through the city, and a neighborhood network around them.

Using the parks through the year

This is the Pacific Northwest, so the seasons matter more than in California.

Summer is the peak — dry trails, long light, the Marymoor concert season and movie nights, and the dog park at its busiest.

Autumn is the best compromise: thinner crowds, good light, and trails still firm before the rain settles in.

Winter is wet. The 40-acre dog park in particular becomes genuinely muddy, and regulars simply accept that. The parks stay open and stay used, because waiting for dry weather here means waiting until May.

Spring brings the trails back and the concert season starting again.

Practical notes

Marymoor is 640 acres — park for what you came to do. Lot D is the one people search by name, and the lots serve different ends of the park.

Check for events before planning a quiet Marymoor visit.

King County runs Marymoor, so its rules are county rules and may differ from Redmond city parks a few streets away.

Light rail reaches the city now — Downtown Redmond station, May 2025, on the north side of Redmond Town Center.

Expect mud from November to April. Dress for it rather than avoiding the parks.

Why Redmond has better parks than its size suggests

Worth explaining, because the scale here is genuinely unusual for a city of about 80,000.

Marymoor is a King County regional park, funded and run to serve the whole county rather than the host city. That is why it carries a velodrome, a 40-acre off-leash area, a climbing wall and a concert venue — facilities that no municipality this size would build alone, sitting inside Redmond because that is where the land was.

The practical consequence for residents is excellent and for visitors slightly confusing: the rules at Marymoor are county rules and can differ from those at Redmond city parks a few streets away. Check which authority manages the land you are on before assuming anything about leashes, permits or hours.

Parks and the bicycle identity

Redmond’s parks and its cycling reputation are the same story. The Sammamish River Trail gives flat, continuous, connected riding; the velodrome gives a track; the Redmond Bike Park gives purpose-built terrain; and the city runs an annual race and parade.

For a visitor, the most enjoyable way to use all of that together is to arrive by 2 Line at Downtown Redmond station and continue on two wheels — which is only possible because of the light rail extension that opened in May 2025.

Which park for what

A dog that needs to run: the 40-acre off-leash area at Marymoor, with river access. Nothing else in the region compares.

A long flat run or ride: the Sammamish River Trail.

Track cycling: the Marymoor velodrome, the only one in Washington.

With children: the Marymoor playground and climbing wall, or a neighborhood park closer to home.

A summer evening: Marymoor Live or an outdoor movie night.

A quiet weekday walk: Marymoor on a non-event day, at the far end from the busiest lot.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best parks in Redmond, WA?

Marymoor Park at Lake Sammamish, the Redmond Watershed Preserve, Farrel-McWhirter Park, and Idylwood Beach Park.

Is Redmond good for cycling?

Yes — it’s called the ‘Bicycle Capital of the Northwest,’ with the Sammamish River and East Lake Sammamish Trails and Marymoor’s velodrome.

Where do locals go outdoors in Redmond?

Locals favor Marymoor Park, the river trails, and the Watershed Preserve — Redmond neighbors share their favorite spots in our community.