Kirkland/ Bellevue, WA

I am moving to Kirkland, WA and wanted to know some suggestions from those that know the area.
What are the best gyms?
Any thoughts on good restaurants, such as decent BBQ places?
Fun things to do for grade school kids?
Like your thoughts on these topics and anything else that might help.

There’s a 24 Hour Fitness thats down in Renton thats kind of a warehouse-y setup, but its got decent enough weights. I’m sure there’s a 24 Hour Fitness in Bellevue though. 24’s around here are pretty decent (IMO).

By far two of the best towns in Washington. Congrats on moving there.

Check out Iron Works in Bellevue…just east of the 405 and off the 520. Worked there a couple summers in the 90’s. I believe it’s owned by a guy who trains/trained BB’s. Good place, although I haven’t been there in years since I moved south.

Thanks for the input everyone

[quote]ghost87 wrote:
I am moving to Kirkland, WA and wanted to know some suggestions from those that know the area.
What are the best gyms? [/quote]

No idea about the best but I’ve been to most of the 24 hour fitnesses mentioned. There’s one in Kirkland proper. It’s small and was usually crowded back when I would go there. From what I remember, it’s rife with cougars/trophy wives or coguars/trophy wives in training.

There’s two in Bellevue. One @ 140th & Bellred. It’s the one I go to the most as it’s closest to my house. It’s an old converted racquet club so it’s big but AFAICT they haven’t put a dime into the place in a decade. It’s the same paint/equipment that was there when I signed up in the late 90s. They just keep swapping out cardio equipment. Oh I forgot, they bought enough new 8 sided rubberized plates so they could throw away the round metal ones making deadlifts suck unless you just bounce 'em. Weeknights are typically crowded with skinny Middle Easterners/Indians.

The other one in Bellevue is in downtown and is pretty nice. Bigish, clean locker room. Enough weight equipment but I’ve never been in a 24 hour fitness that had more than one power rack (god forbid).

The Iron Gym is still there in Bellevue. I never went in because 24 hr fit is just too damn easy.

There’s a place called Dixies. It’s kind of an eastside institution. I don’t know if it’s good but when Gene Porter was alive it was an “experience” to “Meet The Man”

That’s Gene at the top. RIP Gene…

Good resturaunts abound in Bellevue/Kirkland. One that’s awesome but you’ll never find yourself is “The Mediterranean Kitchen” in Bellevue. It’s unassuming Lebanese(?) but it get’s crowded because the food is awesome and the portions are huge.

Woodland park zoo
Kid’s Quest at Eastgate Mall
Rousting bums in “The Jungle” (Seattle-ites will know what I mean ;-))

Don’t freak out when it rains all of December. And January. And February. And most of March and April.

Shoreline is better than Kirkland.

There’s a Mormon temple in Bellevue.

I don’t know what else. Good luck. I have to do a gym search in January.

[quote]byukid wrote:
There’s a Mormon temple in Bellevue.

I don’t know what else. Good luck. I have to do a gym search in January.[/quote]

As long as we’re talking about Mormon facts unrelated to the OP’s post… Gladys Knight is Mormon.

My first inclination after seeing the last two posts was to say something rude about Mormons, but thats just to easy. To revive the thread, I am moving down south and am looking for somewhere good to work out. I know all the big gyms but was won dering if someone knew of a decent strongman PL’ing or sports facility or garage gym. I am moving to the skyway renton area.

I sometimes train just down the road in Auburn at VisionQuest. Its not perfect, but its got some good things going for it. They have a deadlift platform and are rebuilding it right now with a set up for bands, they have an indoor prowler and sled area and two decent size tires to flip, a boxing ring and wrestling mats, and a decent–not great–weight and machine selection. Dumbbells to 150 lbs. They let you use chalk and don’t have any annoying rules that I am aware of. A few local PL’ers train there. Its about $20 a month.

http://www.visionquestsportandfitness.com/contactuss187.php

[quote]MrToad wrote:

[quote]ghost87 wrote:
I am moving to Kirkland, WA and wanted to know some suggestions from those that know the area.
What are the best gyms? [/quote]

No idea about the best but I’ve been to most of the 24 hour fitnesses mentioned. There’s one in Kirkland proper. It’s small and was usually crowded back when I would go there. From what I remember, it’s rife with cougars/trophy wives or coguars/trophy wives in training.

There’s two in Bellevue. One @ 140th & Bellred. It’s the one I go to the most as it’s closest to my house. It’s an old converted racquet club so it’s big but AFAICT they haven’t put a dime into the place in a decade. It’s the same paint/equipment that was there when I signed up in the late 90s. They just keep swapping out cardio equipment. Oh I forgot, they bought enough new 8 sided rubberized plates so they could throw away the round metal ones making deadlifts suck unless you just bounce 'em. Weeknights are typically crowded with skinny Middle Easterners/Indians.

The other one in Bellevue is in downtown and is pretty nice. Bigish, clean locker room. Enough weight equipment but I’ve never been in a 24 hour fitness that had more than one power rack (god forbid).

The Iron Gym is still there in Bellevue. I never went in because 24 hr fit is just too damn easy.

There’s a place called Dixies. It’s kind of an eastside institution. I don’t know if it’s good but when Gene Porter was alive it was an “experience” to “Meet The Man”

That’s Gene at the top. RIP Gene…

Good resturaunts abound in Bellevue/Kirkland. One that’s awesome but you’ll never find yourself is “The Mediterranean Kitchen” in Bellevue. It’s unassuming Lebanese(?) but it get’s crowded because the food is awesome and the portions are huge.

Woodland park zoo
Kid’s Quest at Eastgate Mall
Rousting bums in “The Jungle” (Seattle-ites will know what I mean ;-))

Don’t freak out when it rains all of December. And January. And February. And most of March and April.
[/quote]

This is a great post. Thanks for providing all the details. I’m currently working out in Kirkland at Golds since it’s so close. I have also eaten at Dixie’s in Bellevue. Wow, it was a very interesting experience to say the least! I’m getting used to the rain, but still miss California. It’s our first winter here and I can’t believe how much it rains and how gray it is. We are doing our best to adapt.