Watch Out for the Resident Birds
The mallards and Canada geese here are used to people, and they have been known to go after visitors. Look for the geese gathering in the parking lot and around the picnic areas, and keep that in mind before you walk an excited dog past a flock.
Sandy Beach, Dunes and Marsh
Head down to the lower park, where a sandy beach on Puget Sound sits beside a wetland marsh, just north of Shilshole Bay Marina. Spread out on the broad lawns, wander the dunes and gaze west across the water to the Olympic Mountains.
Plan on wading rather than swimming, because the Sound stays cold even in the middle of summer. With well over a hundred miles separating Puget Sound from the open Pacific, this shoreline is sheltered from the harshest ocean weather.
Sail, Paddle and Ride the Wind
The water off Golden Gardens draws sailors, kayakers and canoeists, and on breezy days you can often watch kitesurfers and sailboarders working the wind offshore. Bringing your own boat? The Eddie Vine Boat Ramp is about 0.3 miles away.
Picnics, Play and Trails
Pack for a full day outside, because Golden Gardens Park covers the basics. You will find:
- Fire pits near the beach
- Picnic areas
- A children's play area
- A basketball court
- Walking and hiking trails
Follow the trails as they climb from the shoreline toward the upper park, and choose between a flat stroll along the beach or a walk with more incline for you and your dog.
Spot Wildlife by the Ponds and Shore
Golden Gardens is known for its birds, both residents and migrants, and the wetlands and ponds support a surprising mix of animals for a city park. Keep your eyes open for:
- Birds: mallards in the wetlands, red-winged blackbirds in the marsh, glaucous-winged gulls, bald eagles, Anna's hummingbirds in the trees by the ponds, and the occasional wood duck
- Pond life: red-eared slider turtles basking on logs, muskrats swimming, and beavers that have felled many of the alders around the ponds
- Marine mammals: harbor seals are a common sight, California sea lions are often heard, and orcas sometimes pass close to the beach
The Bathhouse and a Rally Stage
Stroll about 0.2 miles from the dog park to the Golden Gardens Bath House, one of the park's most recognizable buildings, which the City of Seattle named a historic landmark in 2005.
As you drive the double switchback road up from Golden Gardens, you are tracing an unusual bit of motorsport history. In 1987 it served as a demonstration stage for the Olympus Pro Rally, with cars starting from the Shilshole Bay Marina parking area on Seaview Avenue and finishing at the top of the ridge on Golden Gardens Drive.
Olympus had joined the FIA World Rally Championship calendar in 1986 as the only championship rally in the United States. The Seattle stage remains the only professional rally stage, and the only professional motorsport event, ever run inside city limits.
