Kirkland

Kirkland is a city of 93,000 (2019) in King County, Washington near Seattle.

Understand
Established in 1888 by Peter Kirk with a vision of being the "Pittsburgh of the West", Kirkland today is a charming town on the east side of Lake Washington across from Seattle. It is the home of Northwest University, one of two summer training camps for the Seattle Seahawks, the other being Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

By car
Like many American suburbs, by far the most convenient approach is by car:
 * WA-520.svg State Route (SR) 520 connects Kirkland to Seattle, via the Evergreen Point floating bridge on Lake Washington. The bridge is tolled, hence less busier than Interstate 90. SR-520 serves as the southern border between Kirkland and Bellevue.
 * I-405.svg Interstate 405 (I-405) is the outer loop of Interstate 5 that runs from Lynnwood to Tukwila (and the airport), through Bellevue. Keep in mind that rush hour traffic can be very daunting: expect a 45 minute to 1 hour drive from both ends of the freeway to Kirkland.
 * The more modern and capacious I-90.svg Interstate 90 (I-90) provides another route from Seattle across Lake Washington, via Mercer Island to reach I-405 in Bellevue.

By bus
Intercity bus services from beyond the region stop in Seattle.

Get around
The downtown area is small and very walkable. A car is helpful for convenient travel, especially after normal working hours, as bus service outside of downtown Seattle is not always frequent.

By public transit
The transportation hubs (bus stations) in Kirkland are the on 3rd St at Central Way; ; and the  at NE 128th St & I-405. The Kirkland TC offers routes with service to Downtown Seattle (*255 & Link); Univ of Washington in the U-District (255); Bellevue (245, 250); Redmond (250); Woodinville (230, 231); and other surrounding cities while the Totem Lake Freeway Station offers bus connections to Everett (532); Lynnwood (535); Snohomish via Monroe (424 in PM); Downtown Seattle (311 & 424 in AM); Bellevue (237, 342, 532, 535) and Woodinville (237, 311, 342 & 424).


 * Sound Transit (routes 532, 535)
 * Sound Transit (routes 532, 535)

See

 * The Seattle skyline and Olympic Mountains from one of the many waterfront parks.

Do

 * Explore Marina Park. Located in the pedestrian friendly downtown area, it hosts many small art galleries, coffee shops and restaurants.
 * Check out the many art galleries in down town Kirkland near the waterfront.