Parkways Seattle Parks and Recreation

Many Seattle Parks and Recreation programs and facilities will be impacted by inclement weather on Sunday, Feb. 10. Please check back here and on our Twitter page for regular updates.

Seattle Parks and Recreation program and facility impacts on Sunday, Feb. 10:

OPEN:

We have several ways to help you gather with friends, enjoy indoor recreation opportunities, keep warm, or enjoy snow play! Seattle Parks and Recreation is operating 4 community centers and 3 pools for drop-in use today, as well as the Amy Yee Tennis Center. Golf courses and most athletic fields are open for snow play!

• Community centers: The following community centers are open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for drop-in use: Bitter Lake, South Park, and Rainier Beach community centers. Garfield Garfield Community Center is open for drop-in use and is open as a warming and overnight emergency shelter.
• Pools: The following pools are open for drop-in use: Ballard Pool is open 11:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Madison Pool i open noon to 2:30 p.m.; Southwest Pool is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please call the pool before visiting to confirm hours.
• Warming and overnight emergency shelter: Garfield Community Center (2323 E. Cherry Street) has been opened as a warming and overnight emergency shelter for families with children, and people living in vehicles. Adults are welcome at this facility as well. This shelter will operate 24 hours a day through the morning of Monday, February 11^th. Click here for more information and other severe weather resources from the Seattle Human Services Department.
• Amy Yee Tennis Center: The Amy Yee Tennis Center is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for drop-in use.
• Parks: Parks are open; however, we encourage visitors to use caution. Snow and ice can cause tree branches to snap. Please stay out from under trees and avoid forested park areas during the current weather conditions.
• Snow Play: Golf courses are closed for golf but are open for sledding and snow play. Most athletic fields are also open for non-motorized winter recreation.
• Jefferson Park driving range: The Jefferson Park driving range, pro shop and grill are open until 3 p.m. (all golf courses are closed).

CLOSED:

• Recreation programs: All recreation and aquatics programs, including registered programs, canceled.
• Rentals: All Recreation facility rentals canceled.
• Teen Life Centers (TLC): All TLCs closed.
• Youth basketball: All youth basketball games and practices are canceled Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Youth basketball games will be rescheduled the weekend of Feb. 16 & 17.
• Small Craft Centers: The Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center and the Green Lake Small Craft Center closed.
• Athletic Fields: Athletic field rentals/games are canceled. Some fields are open for winter play.
• Golf Courses: All golf courses are closed; however, the Jefferson Park driving range, pro shop and grill will be open until 3 p.m. Courses are open to non-motorized winter recreation (please keep off putting greens and away from environmentally sensitive areas near the creeks at Jackson and West Seattle).

 

Many Seattle Parks and Recreation programs and facilities will be impacted by inclement weather on Saturday, Feb. 9. Please check back here and on our Twitter page for regular updates.

Seattle Parks and Recreation program and facility impacts on Saturday, Feb. 9:

OPEN:

We have several ways to help you gather with friends, enjoy indoor recreation opportunities, keep warm, or enjoy snow play! Seattle Parks and Recreation is operating 11 community centers and two pools for drop-in use today. Golf courses and most athletic fields are open for snow play!

• Community centers: The following community centers are open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for drop-in use: Loyal Heights, Magnolia, Green Lake, Bitter Lake, Montlake, Northgate, Meadowbrook, Van Asselt, Rainier Beach, and High Point community centers. Garfield Community Center is open for drop-in use and is open as a warming and overnight emergency shelter.
• Pools: Meadowbrook Pool and Rainier Beach Pool are scheduled to operate on a modified schedule for drop-in use from noon to 2:30 p.m. Please call the pool before visiting to confirm hours.
• Warming and overnight emergency shelter: Garfield Community Center (2323 E. Cherry Street) has been opened as a warming and overnight emergency shelter for families with children, and people living in vehicles. Adults are welcome at this facility as well. This shelter will operate 24 hours a day through the morning of Monday, February 11^th. Click here for more information and other severe weather resources from the Seattle Human Services Department.
• Parks: Parks are open; however, we encourage visitors to use caution. Snow and ice can cause tree branches to snap. Please stay out from under trees and avoid forested park areas during the current weather conditions.
• Snow Play: Golf courses are closed for golf but are open for sledding and snow play. Most athletic fields are also open for non-motorized winter recreation.

CLOSED:

• Recreation programs: All recreation and aquatics programs, including registered programs, canceled.
• Rentals: All Recreation facility rentals canceled.
• Teen Life Centers (TLC): All TLCs closed.
• Youth basketball: All youth basketball games and practices are canceled Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Youth basketball games will be rescheduled the weekend of Feb. 16 & 17.
• Small Craft Centers: The Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center and the Green Lake Small Craft Center closed.
• Amy Yee Tennis Center: The Amy Yee Tennis Center is closed and all programs are canceled.
• Athletic Fields: Athletic field rentals/games are canceled. Some fields are open for winter play.
• Golf Courses: All golf courses are closed. Courses are open to non-motorized winter recreation (please keep off putting greens and away from environmentally sensitive areas near the creeks at Jackson and West Seattle).

 

Many Seattle Parks and Recreation programs and facilities are being impacted by the anticipated inclement weather on Friday, Feb. 8. Please check back here and on our Twitter page for regular updates.

Garfield Community Center (2323 E. Cherry Street) has been opened as a warming and overnight emergency shelter for families with children, and people living in vehicles. Adults are welcome at this facility as well. This shelter will operate 24 hours a day through the morning of Monday, February 11^th. Click here for more information and other severe weather resources from the Seattle Human Services Department.

Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Associated Recreation Council would like to invite you to the inaugural Fund the Fun Breakfast on Thursday, March 21 at the Hyatt at Olive 8. This fundraising event will raise money for youth recreation scholarships to help families in need. We’re inviting you to help us make this first-ever event a success!

Fund the Fun is free to attend. At the end of the one-hour program, we’ll ask guests to donate an amount that’s meaningful to them. Guests can designate their donation to a specific community center or program.

Click here for more information about the event.

Please send questions and RSVPs to our Grants Administrator, Robin Slutsky at robin.slutsky@seattle.gov or 206-245-6524 and we’ll add you to our guest list. We look forward to hearing from you, and we hope to see you in March!

Due to the extremely cold weather, Seattle Parks and Recreation’s plumbing shop is assessing and closing comfort stations to avoid freezing pipes. We hope to reopen comfort stations soon once the weather warms up.

The following comfort stations are currently closed. We will likely be adding more sites to the list in the coming days; please check back here for updates.

• Lincoln Park Wading Pool comfort station
• Lincoln Park Beach comfort station
• Westcrest Reservoir comfort station
• High Point Playfield comfort station
• Fairmont Park comfort station
• Upper Golden Gardens comfort station
• Madison Park comfort station
• West Magnolia South Playfield comfort station
• Discovery Park South Bluff comfort station
• Mathews Beach CS comfort station
• Cowen Park comfort station

Most Seattle Parks and Recreation facilities and programs are operating as normal today (Wednesday, Feb. 6). Please check back here for updates.

Open: All Recreation programs and facilities (community centers; pools; teen life centers; Amy Yee Tennis Center; Camp Long and Discovery Park visitor centers; and small craft centers) are scheduled to operate as normal today.

Some instructors may have difficulty arriving to their center, so we recommend you call ahead to confirm your specific class or program is taking place.

Closed: 

• Golf Courses: All golf courses are currently closed for golf but open for snow play. We anticipate opening Interbay at around 2:30 p.m.. Check back here for updates.
• Athletic Fields: Athletic field rentals/games are canceled. Most fields are open for winter play.

Parks: Parks are open; however, we encourage visitors to use caution. Snow and ice can cause tree branches to snap. Please use caution in parks, stay out from under trees and avoid forested park areas during the current weather conditions.

• • Green Lake Park: A section of the Green Lake Park loop path froze due to an irrigation issue. The section has been coned off; please use caution and walk around this section.
  • Salmon Bay Park: Crews are addressing downed tree branches in the park. The work area has been coned off; please use caution and stay out of this section of the park.

Join us on Wednesday, Feb. 27 for a Mardi Gras Party and Luncheon! Please register in advance. Details below:

Event:                   Mardi Gras Party & Luncheon

Date:                     Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Time:                     11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Location:              Miller Community Center (330 19^th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112)

Cost:                      $6 per person

Registration:      Please register in advance at (206) 684-4753

Details:                 Enjoy an authentic New Orleans lunch, music, and lots of fun!

Costumes are welcome. Come meet the event sponsor and entertainer, Sylvia O’Stayformore, local entrepreneur and drag queen extraordinaire! Presented by Rainbow Recreation, programming for LGBTQ adults and allies aged 50+.

Last year, we worked in every corner of the city to restore our urban forest, build new parks and play areas, maintain our nearly 500 parks and 26 community centers, and provide hundreds of programs, summer camps, swim lessons and more! Thank you, Seattle, for making 2018 a great year!

Read on to learn about some of our major accomplishments from 2018.

Recreation:

• We began operating and staffing the Lake City Community Center! A standout teen program at the center is the Lake City Young Leaders program, which serves youth ages 13-17 with an emphasis on community-based activism, food drives, and mural projects.
• The Recreation for All fund, through the Seattle Parks District, provides financial support to local nonprofit organizations, small businesses, community groups, and individuals to provide culturally relevant programs and events throughout the City of Seattle.  In 2018, we partnered with 25 community groups to provide over 6,500 people with recreation opportunities.
• We created a three-month mobile recreation program called “Rec N the Streets”, bringing fitness opportunities to neighborhood gathering spaces and providing events in communities with serious health disparities.

Aquatics:

• We welcomed well over 1.6 million visitors to our indoor pools and small craft centers.
• More than 226,480 people visited our summer beaches!
• Community members swam 163,400 laps in support of our “Laps 4 Pride” initiative to show support for the LGBTQ community.

Recreation opportunities:

• We scheduled 175 hours of free community drop-in time on eight different athletic fields around Seattle as part of our Athletic Field Drop-In Program.
• Our Specialized Programs served 378 youth with disabilities in summer day and overnight camps.
• Our Rainbow Recreation program for LGBTQ adults aged 50+ had 250 people participate in special events and trips, as well as 181 participants in classes such as Gentle Yoga, Enhance Fitness, Seniors Creating Art, Writers Workshop, and more.

New and enhanced parks and facilities:

• We opened three new parks: Yesler Terrace Park, the Woodland Park Sensory Garden, and Gemenskap Park.
• We renovated the playgrounds at Georgetown Palyfield, Prentis Frazier Park and Gas Works Park! The renovations added new features and improved safety as well as ADA accessibility.
• Our Enhanced Cleaning team completed specialty cleaning at over 50 locations, including community centers, pools, shelter houses, rental facilities, crew quarters, administration buildings, and fountains. Enhanced cleaning helps ensure that our facilities are warm and welcoming places to gather.

Energy and water conservation: 

• Staff completed 24 utility conservation projects, resulting in an average energy consumption reduction of about 58%.
• We replaced old and inefficient natural-gas-fired boilers at three facilities with high-efficiency condensing boilers.
• The department used 20% less water for irrigation than industry standard water volume budget for irrigated areas of our parks.

Green spaces:

• 145,736 native plants installed by the Green Seattle Partnership.
• 3,334 feet of trails restored and 195 trail projects completed by our Trails Program.
• 2018 set a record for most visitors to the Seattle Japanese Garden. Over 100K people came to visit or attend events such as Family Saturdays, Tanabata Star Festival, and Maple Festival.

Events:

• On Aug. 18, Rainier Playfield and Community Center was filled with hundreds of families and community members shooting hoops, showing off their pickleball skills, dancing to hip hop, getting their heart pumping with Zumba, rock climbing, bouncing on inflatables, running in sack races, watching cultural performances, and much more! All of these fun health and physical fitness activities were part of Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Big Day of Play, our annual, signature event dedicated to celebrating Seattle’s diversity and encouraging neighbors, communities and families to have fun, build relationships and be active together.
• More than 30,000 families, friends and neighbors joined us for the Green Lake Pathway of Lights, a beloved Seattle tradition. Attendees traveled the the 2.8-mile path around the lake, while taking in the warm glow of thousands of twinkling candles and enjoying holiday music and refreshments.
• Our Event Scheduling office permitted 5,939 events in parks and recreation facilities, including 3,508 picnics, 219 ceremonies, and 34 day camps.

Youth opportunities:

• The 2018 Teen Summer Musical at Benaroya Hall was a huge hit, with 3,726 tickets sold! The summer musical is an opportunity for local teens to perform on the big stage while learning the business side of theater operations.
• Our Youth Employment Unit was able to place 242 young people into jobs and internships in 2018.