Natural Areas

The City of Mercer Island is home to 307 acres of natural areas (also referred to as open space). Natural Areas include upland forests, ravines, wetlands, and watercourses. The forest canopy and understory vegetation provides valuable wildlife habitat, as well as many ecosystem services to the Mercer Island community such as stormwater abatement, cooling and shade, steep slope stabilization, and carbon sequestration - which helps mitigate the effects of climate change. Access to natural areas also improves the well-being of the community providing access to nature and passive recreation such as hiking, walking, and bird watching. Natural areas can be found as part of the City's multi-use developed parks such as Luther Burbank Park or Island Crest Park as well as forested parks such as SE 53rd Open Space or Pioneer Park.