Tag Archives: lake washington

End of summer swimming notes: Medgar Evers Pool reopens, last days of the Leschi Fire Dock

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Final days for the old Leschi Fire Dock

Here are updates on two Central District-area parks construction projects involving longer than expected timelines — and swimming.

  • Medgar Evers Pool reopens after 10-month closure: On 23rd Ave’s Garfield High School and Community Center campus, the public Medgar Evers Pool has finally reopened after a longer-than-expected construction closure. CHS reported in March how a planned “8-week closure” for planned upgrades was stretching out for months after “failing” beams” were found in the roof structure of the 56-year-old public pool. Closed since last November for the beam repair plus accessibility improvements, HVAC replacement, and renovation of the men’s and women’s locker rooms, the pool has reopened for its full schedule of open swim, classes, and more. We’ve asked the city for the final price tag on the overhaul and repairs. Learn more at seattle.gov. UPDATE: SPR put the construction budget at $600,000.
  • Goodbye to the Leschi Fire Dock: The $7.9 million overhaul at Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Leschi South Marina is ready to go back into motion after the work was paused in May over community outcry about the construction project’s impact on nearby businesses. Tell your kids this is their last chance to enjoy the marina’s popular — and very old — swim dock before construction work begins on the project on Monday. The project is a significant undertaking with plans to remove the existing timber pier and floating dock, “which are supported by creosote-treated piles and are nearing the end of their useful life.” The existing pipe pile breakwater, which the city says does not “adequately protect the marina from wave action,” will also be removed. A new breakwater with a boat sewage pump-out facility, and boat moorage with public access will be floated with benches and a kayak rack. As part of the project, divers are also removing trash from the area as well as the creosote timber. There are no details on how the new dock setup will accommodate Leschi’s old Fire Dock summer swim crowds. “Teen hangout” wasn’t included in the city’s community priorities for the project. There’s also no telling why the southern dock at Leschi has been known as the Fire Dock. It never served as moorage for the Seattle Fire Department’s freshwater marine response on Lake Washington or any other related possibilities, according to city records.
 
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Judge rules Denny Blaine Park can stay open — and nude — but with new limits

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Defenders of the right to be nude in Denny Blaine Park are cautious in victory this week as a King County Superior Court judge has denied a bid by a group of neighbors and nearby property owners to close off the public shoreline at the historically recognized LGBTQ+ nude beach.

In his decision, Judge Samuel Chung sided with the City of Seattle and the Friends of Denny Blaine community group in keeping the two-acre park on the shores of Lake Washington open — and nude — calling Denny Blaine “a limited natural resource that must be shared by the residents of the neighborhood and the Park’s visitors.”

While it will keep the park open, the ruling will put new pressures on Denny Blaine as it has become a center in debates over public space, community use, and personal expression in Seattle.

The ruling also cements some key elements for neighbors: property values.

The judge cited the King County Assessor’s Office’s designation of “thirteen properties as being negatively affected by ‘nuisance’ from the Park and decreased the assessed land value of these homes by at least ten percent” as a key element in his ruling.

Chung’s decision comes with caveats after several findings that, he said, justified the neighbors’ claims around lewd acts and criminal activity at the park. In the ruling, the judge said the city must implement and manage a previously approved abatement plan, and “develop and implement a park specific user plan and code of conduct to address overcrowding, safety, and prohibited and acceptable behaviors.” Continue reading →

Judge rules you can go topless this weekend in Denny Blaine Park

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A crowd filled the park during a puppet show protest last August

It will be a little grey over Seattle this weekend but a King County judge has ruled you can go topless in Denny Blaine Park.

CHS reported here in April as the Friends of Denny Blaine group said it had filed a motion asking the court “to confirm that toplessness is allowed at the historically recognized LGBTQ+ nude beach.”

Last Friday, they got their answer. From the Friends:

On May 1, 2026, the King County Superior Court confirmed that toplessness is allowed throughout Denny Blaine Park, including the “Clothing Required” Zone. The Court made clear that neither its prior order nor the City’s abatement plan requires anyone to cover their torso, regardless of sex, gender, gender identity, or expression.

Friends of Denny Blaine said the ruling comes as private security workers have been an increasing presence around the park on the shores of Lake Washington. The group said the private security has been telling people to cover up and reporting nudity to police. Continue reading →

City postpones $7.9M marina overhaul after community outcry over Leschi business impact

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(Image: Blu Water Bistro)

A wave of community feedback in defense of neighborhood businesses has convinced the city to shift its construction plans for the Leschi South Marina.

The Leschi Market announced the capitulations this week after neighbors sent hundreds of emails to the city over what the market and nearby businesses like Blu Water Bistro said was a poorly communicated and orchestrated start of construction on the $7.9 million project.

“Because of this community, the City received over 900 emails regarding the impact on Leschi Market and surrounding businesses,” an update from the market reads. “That kind of response is truly incredible, and it made a real difference. We are deeply grateful to everyone who took the time to speak up.” Continue reading →

Ready for the plunge into 2026? Bywater Sauna and cold dips are creating warm community dockside on Lake Washington

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When Nate Garberich started taking solo cold plunges in Lake Washington back in 2020, he was looking for more than a refreshing experience. 2026 is beginning with Garberich helping others warm up to finding community and friendship on the Leschi lake shore.

Bywater, a mobile sauna and cold plunge experience that’s quickly becoming a Seattle social hub, will be part of the lakeside neighborhood into spring.

“I’ve been going in the water since like 2020, and I was going alone for a couple years,” Garberich tells CHS. What changed everything was community. He started the Cold Water Collective, a meetup group that transformed solitary winter dips into group experiences, complete with potlucks and bonfires. Continue reading →

‘Lake Beach Alerts’ now a necessary part of Seattle summer

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As Seattle goes into a week of temperatures in the 80s in a possible last gasp of summer, some of its most popular beaches are closed to swimming.

County health currently advises that bacteria in the water at popular Madison Park Beach tests above safe thresholds: Continue reading →

Seattle Police says will pause ‘directed patrols’ at Denny Blaine, OPA investigating — UPDATE

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(Image: Seattle Parks)

The Seattle Police Department tells CHS it is pausing “directed patrols” at Denny Blaine Park in the wake of outcry of its enforcements efforts around nudity at the popular nude beach.

A spokesperson for the department responded Wednesday as city officials including Mayor Bruce Harrell weighed in on the concerns raised by the weekend police and the park’s longtime use as a nude beach the community.

SPD tells CHS the incident has also been referred to the Office of Police Accountability following a public complaint about the department and officer actions.

CHS reported here on SPD’s clearance of sunbathers from the park Sunday and reported threats of trespass to one park goer who initially refused.

City officials made it clear this week they were not going to stand behind the department on the issue. Continue reading →

Keep Denny Blaine Nude? Neighbors sue city over ‘public masturbation, public sex and other types of indecent exposure, drug use, unlawful public nudity, environmental damage to the shoreline, and scofflaw parking’

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(Image: Denny Blaine Park for All)

Homeowners in the wealthy neighborhood surrounding Denny Blaine Park and nude beach are suing the city over its management of the lakefront public space.

“It is now a regional venue for criminal and uncivil behavior that includes public masturbation, public sex and other types of indecent exposure, drug use, unlawful public nudity, environmental damage to the shoreline, and scofflaw parking that prevents fire trucks and ambulances from reaching neighborhood homes,” the complaint from lawyers representing the Denny Blaine Park for All “association of concerned neighbors” reads.

The lawsuit was sent to Seattle media and television stations this week but is not yet available from the King County Superior Court.

The Seattle Times posted a copy of the complaint Wednesday.

The lawsuit from Seattle’s Foster Garvey PC firm is a major wrinkle in any efforts hoped to bridge the gaps between area homeowners, Seattle Parks, and the nudist and queer communities working to “Keep Denny Blaine Nude” while also addressing concerns about access, cleanliness, and safety around the park. Continue reading →

Seattle Parks to hold public meeting on Denny Blaine play area

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Seattle Parks and Recreation finally issued a press release this week announcing its planned public meeting this Wednesday night for citizens “to learn about and provide input for the Denny Blaine Park Play Area project.”

Last month, CHS broke the news on the meeting and the hush hush planning backed by an even more quiet private donor to squeeze a kid’s play area into the grassy public park popular with the many communities who have made the space a refuge for enjoying the multimillion-dollar shores of Lake Washington in the nude. Continue reading →

City of Seattle planning addition of ‘children’s play area’ to popular nude hangout Denny Blaine Park — UPDATE: ‘Private donation’

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Full disclosure: CHS has never been to Denny Blaine but if we had, we would have brought an umbrella (Image: CHS)

With an wet El Niño Seattle winter around the corner, you might be thinking of warmer days on the Capitol Hill Riviera and hot summer visits to Dykekiki Beach — also known as Denny Blaine Park.

A new, little talked about plan could change the popular park’s place in Seattle’s cultures and communities that fully celebrate the city’s most public spaces.

On the table at Seattle Parks is a plan that calls for the creation of a small children’s play area in the park “to address,” the parks department says, “the current gap for play areas in the neighborhood.”

The kids play feature could also mark an important change for the park’s longtime destination for enjoying Seattle lake vibes in the nude. Seattle Parks is holding a community meeting on the planned project in early December.

Park visitor Jesse Miranda tipped CHS to the plan. Continue reading →