LYNNWOOD — After years of anticipation, light rail service is up and running in Lynnwood.
With 23 stops, the Sound Transit 1 Line is ideal for commuters, day-trippers and the airport-bound.
From Lynnwood City Center Station, the 33-mile, 70-minute journey is punctuated by the constant refrain, “This is the train to Angle Lake” — repeated 23 times, lest you forget.
The end of the line isn’t the airport? Who knew?
Armed with an ORCA card, we set off from Lynnwood to explore sites along the way to the mysterious Angle Lake.
That was the plan. Here’s what really happened.
Parking pains
We arrived at the Lynnwood station around 10 a.m., eager for an early dim sum lunch in the Chinatown-International District, just a 30-minute ride away. Instead, we joined a caravan of cars circling the garage like lost puppies searching for one of the 1,670 spaces. Not a single empty spot in the five-story garage, where parking is free for 24 hours.
Thinking of parking at a nearby strip mall? Forget it. Stern warnings were posted everywhere: Light rail parkers will be towed. (Thanks, Mary’s Towing!)
Living dangerously, we parked at a retail plaza near Alderwood Mall, 1.1 miles from the station. Heading to the mall usually means gridlock and gas.
On foot, we took in a different side of Lynnwood, observing details that were blurs from the car window. We had the city’s wide, landscaped sidewalks to ourselves. Not another footslogger in sight.
A Link train leaves Roosevelt Station on Oct. 14, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
IHOP, Denny’s and Olive Garden all vied for our attention on restaurant row. The Neptune Society’s affordable cremation services caught our eye, because why not mix lunch plans with an end-of-life plan?
We paused to admire a utility box decked out in patriotic colors honoring veterans. We cut through a strip mall and stumbled upon the Cheaper by the Day outlet, filled with bins of discounted Amazon returns. How many times had we driven by without a second glance?
After all this sight-seeing, we finally made it to the Ride Store, Community Transit’s on-site help desk staffed with real people to take care of your needs and woes. Here, we met Lee and Debi Clark, a local couple also stymied by the parking situation. Snagging a space in a 15-minute zone, they popped into the Ride Store for advice, hoping to embark on an afternoon trip to downtown Seattle.
The station clerk was well aware of the parking crunch created by commuters. “Rather than taking the bus here to catch the light rail, they’re driving,” the clerk said.
We bought a senior day pass, a steal at $2 that allowed unlimited transit all day. This all-you-can-ride buffet of rail, bus and Zip shuttle was good until 3 a.m. — just in case we got lucky.
All aboard!
With a swipe of an ORCA card at the base of the escalator, we were on the platform, awaiting the train due in 10 minutes. Time to admire the glass panels by Tlingit artists Preston Singletary and David Franklin.
The Angle Lake refrain greeted us upon boarding. Most people never travel to the southernmost point on the line, which led us to ponder: What the heck is at Angle Lake? Reporter sleuths that we are, we decided to find out.
A person drives a pontoon boat across Angle Lake past geese grazing along the the shoreline on Oct. 14, 2024 in SeaTac, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
From our seats, we had a prime view of the crawl of traffic on I-5. The Link’s top speed is 55 miles per hour, or 35 on surface streets.
Time sails by on a train with an ever-changing view of graffiti, rooftops, gravel quarries, car lots and towering new apartment complexes. And then — darkness. After the Northgate stop, the train burrows underground.
En route
There’s plenty to ogle along the way. Here are some highlights that kept us glued to the window instead of our phones.
Shoreline South Station: The bright stretch of murals in orange, yellow and cobalt blue are a feast for the eyes.
Chinatown-International District: Even though the station is underground, Andrea’s stomach rumbled in yearning for potstickers and pork buns. A snack bag of Cheetos had to suffice.
SODO Station: A glimpse of Starbucks headquarters, formerly Sears, had Janice reminiscing about the bargain basement where her dad bought her first unicycle. “I wonder if they have a coffee shop,” she mused earnestly.
Beyond SODO, you can’t miss the blue and yellow Franz Bakery sign and in the distance, catch sight of the big red R atop the old Rainier Brewery.
Still more stations: Stops, such as Columbia City and Othello, offer up-close street-level views of local neighborhoods at 35 mph, a measured pace that lets you take in all the details.
And then the train picks up speed and hurtles south to Sea-Tac. After all, there are planes to catch.
Angle Lake’s allure
The ebb and flow of passengers varied by stop. The number of those hauling suitcases increased as we rolled southward. A ticket to ride the light rail to Sea-Tac is $3 for adults, $1 for seniors and free for ages 18 and under. Why would anybody drive?
After the airport station, the view from the tracks is an eye-opener. Above, a control tower looms over scores of airline hangars and mechanic sheds, dozens of jets at rest and four concourses. The imposing cluster of serpentine garages houses 13,000 spaces, the second largest in the world. If only the Lynnwood garage could borrow a few.
A view of Mt. Rainer from the end of the Angle Lake Station platform on Oct. 14, 2024 in SeaTac, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
It was nearly 2 p.m. when we arrived at Angle Lake, named after the 103-acre lake in the city of SeaTac.
The station features artist Laura Haddad’s “Cloud” sculpture, a mesmerizing piece made of 6,000 swirling disks.
On the plaza framed by a parking garage, we peeked through the window behind a green neon Roadhouse sign. The year-old venue hosts meetings and concerts, a nod to the area’s rich musical history. From the 1930s to the 1960s, Angle Lake was a dance hall hotspot midway between Seattle and Tacoma. The Spanish Castle Ballroom inspired Jimi Hendrix’s classic “Spanish Castle Magic.”
Across from the station, we found historic Highway 99, dotted with abandoned buildings, an IHOP, and a swath of airport hotels.
At the All Star Grocery, “Cheap Smokes” and “Cheap Beer” flickered in red neon. Inside was the usual selection of snacks, bread and soda. Under lock and key: $12.99 baseball caps and $8.99 crisp white T-shirts.
In need of directions, the friendly cashier pointed us north toward Angle Lake, a half-mile away. She suggested we pick up a bottle of wine so we could “feel good at the lake.”
Tempting, but we were on a mission.
Honking geese
We strolled down Highway 99’s motel row, again as the only pedestrians out and about. Planes roared overhead every few minutes.
Near Highway 99 and N 195th Street, we spotted a sign for the Angle Lake nature trail and turned right onto a paved path toward the water. The contour of the lake forms a right angle, hence the name. Another mystery solved!
A storyboard at the park told the lake’s history as a once-thriving resort anchored by a 20-foot diving tower. Known as “The Plunge,” the Reepleog family opened the resort in 1915. Dancing to the sounds of the Blind Radio Five Orchestra, fishing, boating and ice skating were among its attractions. Now, a swimming beach with lifeguards is open from mid-June to Labor Day. Bring your fishing pole to angle for rainbow trout and largemouth bass.
A plane taking off from SeaTac is framed by the Angle Lake station parking garage on Oct. 14, 2024 in SeaTac, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
A flock of Canada geese took a shine to us after we shared our Cheetos. Surrounded by nature — grass, ganders and guano — we could finally relax by the lake. Even the jets didn’t distract.
We met Drew and Eric Henrie-McWilliams, a couple from Daytona Beach who had extended their Seattle trip due to hurricanes back home. Staying at a nearby hotel, they ventured out and were surprised to discover this pocket of tranquility just a few steps from Highway 99.
“It’s just gorgeous here,” Eric said.
“I didn’t know SeaTac was its own city,” Drew added.
Sea-Tac Airport is also in the city of SeaTac.
All who wander are (not) lost
At 4 p.m., we boarded the train back to Lynnwood, our fitness app tallying our steps at 13,189 (or 5.14 miles).
The train was standing room only with commuters when we got off at Pioneer Square to hunt down Waterfall Garden, a fabled hidden gem. Just two blocks away, it seemed easy to squeeze into our itinerary.
Amid the chaos of the downtown traffic and crowds, it is easy to become disoriented. After an eight-block detour in the wrong direction, we ended up at Symphony Station, across from Benaroya Hall, one block from the Seattle Art Museum and a five-minute jog from the Showbox at 1st Avenue and Pike Street.
Good to know. Next time, we’ll catch a show.
Groovy, man!
With time and money to burn on our $2 pass, we made one last stop: Roosevelt Station at NE 65th Street, a stunning 90 feet beneath the surface. Topside, you can’t miss the terminal. “Building Blocks,” a 49-foot orange-and-gold archway, serves as a waypost.
Like Angle Lake, the Roosevelt neighborhood boasts an impressive musical past. Roosevelt High School alums include Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan and Anthony Ray, better known as rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot.
“Building Blocks,” a 49-foot-tall archway outside of Roosevelt Station on Oct. 14, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Standard Radio’s vintage facade and neon sign lights up the station entrance, fitting decor for a neighborhood that once bopped with high-end stereo stores stocked with vinyl and 8-tracks. This area was also the birthplace of the Helix, Seattle’s first underground “alternative” newspaper.
Now, there’s a Whole Foods, Massage Envy and, for the pups, Mud Bay. Small storefronts are being bought up and leveled to make way for high-rises with ground-floor retail. If you’re looking for some shade, Cowen Park, to the southeast at 5849 15th Ave. NE, is a 10-minute walk. Here, you can contemplate the life cycle of a frog through four bronze sculptures by Rachel Boughton.
Once a hi-fi hub, vestiges of old Roosevelt remain. Hawthorne Stereo, 6303 Roosevelt Way, is the last audio store standing. In room after room, vintage turntables, receivers, vacuum tube radios, speakers and audio gear fill the shelves. Spend $150 or $10,000.
Standard Radio’s vintage neon sign lights at the entrance of Roosevelt Station on Oct. 14, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Slip into the store’s “listening booth,” a retro-audio oasis that resembles a 1970s pad, and sink into the couch. Shelves stacked with turntables and floor speakers abound. Plush oriental rugs cover the floor and wall. A silver floor lamp overlooks a plastic ficus tree.
At the stereo shop we discovered that the lust for light rail adventure runs both ways — north and south.
Hawthorne manager John Healy said he and his girlfriend hoped to catch the train to Lynnwood for a visit to Olive Garden or Round Table Pizza, favorites that can’t be found in Seattle proper.
By the time we rolled into the Lynnwood station, it was past suppertime.
Murals and graffiti art cover the building outside of Roosevelt Station on Oct. 14, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Guess what! We got lucky after all. Olive Garden was still serving dinner.
Up next
Join us for our next installment when we ride the rails again.
We’ll find that hidden waterfall, lunch on dim sum and see if there is a coffee shop at Starbucks headquarters.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly said the Ride Store was operated by Sound Transit.
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