Green Lake is a freshwater lake in north central Seattle, surrounded by Green Lake Park. The park is in the center of the Green Lake neighborhood, and adjoins the Woodland Park Zoo to the southwest. It is a glacial lake, its basin having been dug 50,000 years ago by the Vashon glacier, which also created Lake Washington, Lake Union, and Bitter and Haller Lakes.  Green Lake is surrounded entirely by a very popular paved path. The 2.8 mile path is divided into two lanes, one for pedestrians and one for bicycles, roller skates, and other wheeled (un-motorized) vehicles.

Surrounded by a grassy park with elegant tall trees, the mainstay of the Green Lake community is the lake itself. The population here includes walkers, bikers, roller-bladers, dogs, ducks, geese and herons.  There is a rowing team at the south end of the lake and at the north end there’s a community pool, theater, basketball courts and tennis courts. The lake and park are nearly always full of people enjoying the outdoors, jogging the path, relaxing in the grass or playing baseball or soccer on the fields.

Living in this neighborhood means living within walking distance of this beautiful lake—along with a surrounding array of restaurants, shops and coffee bars.  Single family homes are located on all sides of the lake with new condominiums and town homes cropping up on the east side of the lake. There are signs of new construction around the neighborhood, but Green Lake is defined by its turn-of-the-century Craftsman style homes and bungalow architecture.