Dravus Street, Seattle

Seattle residents – Dravus St. is a decent training option

There are more than a few prominent hills in the Seattle region, but, for some reason, Dravus Street is not one that is frequently mentioned. From time to time while I lived in Seattle, I would notice people training – running, hiking, cycling – on one of these other hills. But I would rarely see people training on Dravus St., which happened to be close to where I lived.

Dravus Street – A Nice Training Hill

So back in 2008, when I needed to train for Mount Rainier and I needed somewhere close, Dravus St. ended up fitting the bill. Dravus Street, which rises sharply in less than half of mile from Interbay to the top of Magnolia, ended up being the location of some quick training runs and “hikes.”

While not certain of the exact mileage or altitude gain, I did see this section of Dravus St. listed as 0.4 miles and about 300 feet of elevation gain on a local cycling website.

I ended up using Dravus Street for up-and-down runs, hikes with a weighted pack and hikes carrying my 1-1/2 year-old son in my child-carrier backpack. The relatively short length and steepness of the route helped to train my legs, feet and back for both the uphill and downhill portions of my upcoming climb of Mount Rainier.

Do you live in Seattle? Have you trained on Dravus St. or do you know of an even better location for people in need of a nearby hill to train?