Matthews Beach no longer lifeguarded this summer.
The swim beach at Matthews Beach Park had multiple closures this summer due to high bacteria levels following water sampling by Public Health — Seattle & King County. Seattle Parks and Recreation has decided to keep this location closed for swimming for the remainder of the summer and has opened the swim beach at Magnuson Park. The swim beach at Magnuson Park is lifeguarded on weekdays from 12pm-7pm and on weekends from 11am-7pm.
Matthews Beach has experienced several closures over the past couple of years due to high bacteria levels (more than any of our other swim beaches). In prior years, we have temporarily reassigned staff to other beaches during a closure. However, due to limited staff capacity this year, it is not feasible to reassign staff on a week-by-week basis to other locations. Magnuson Beach has not experienced similar levels of closures as Matthews Beach due to poor water quality and Seattle Parks and Recreation has opened Magnuson Beach through the remainder of summer to support better scheduling consistency for our staff and the public.
See all 2023 Summer Swim Beach locations here.
Learn more about Public Health — Seattle & King County’s Lake Swimming Beach monitoring program here.
