Kinnear Park: Queen Anne Dog Park With Sound Views

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Seattle Parks and Recreation lists Kinnear Park as a dog park. Check the official Seattle Parks page for current rules and where dogs are allowed.

Kinnear Park covers 14.1 acres on the southwest slope of Queen Anne Hill. It has two tiers: a lawn atop the cliff and a wooded area below.

The park is named for George Kinnear, a local real estate developer. He sold the city 11 acres for a dollar in 1887 and donated another 3 acres in 1897.

Yes. The City of Seattle has designated Kinnear Park a landmark.

Kinnear Park is in West Queen Anne, between W. Olympic Place to the northeast and W. Mercer Place and Elliott Avenue W. to the southwest, stretching from 6th Avenue W. to 9th Avenue W.

Picture an open lawn running along the top of a cliff, with woods filling the level below. That is Kinnear Park, a 14.1-acre bluff park on the southwest slope of Queen Anne Hill in West Queen Anne. Seattle Parks and Recreation lists it as a dog park, so it makes a handy Queen Anne dog park with deep roots, too: it ranks among Seattle's oldest parks and is a designated city landmark.

Two tiers on the Queen Anne bluff

Kinnear Park works with the hillside instead of flattening it, so expect a different feel on each level. Stroll the upper tier for lawn and open space perched right along the edge of the cliff. Then head down to the lower tier, where the park turns wooded and the mood shifts entirely.

The park fills a long strip of slope, framed by W. Olympic Place on its northeast side and by W. Mercer Place and Elliott Avenue W. to the southwest. At either end, it stretches from the 6th Avenue W. right of way on the east to the 9th Avenue W. right of way on the west.

Read the full guide

Bring your dog

Because Seattle Parks and Recreation counts Kinnear Park among the city's dog parks, it is an easy stop for dog owners in West Queen Anne. Before you set out, check the Seattle Parks and Recreation page for the park to confirm current rules, hours and where dogs are allowed.

Curious how it compares with other spots around town? Browse our roundup of all dog parks in Seattle and plan your next outing.

A park bought for one dollar

As you walk the grounds, you are enjoying a gift from George Kinnear, the Seattle real estate developer whose name the park carries. He sold the city an 11-acre parcel for a single dollar in 1887, then added a second 3-acre parcel a decade later in 1897.

Work on the park was already underway when E. O. Schwagerl became Seattle's superintendent of parks in 1892. Acting as landscape architect, Schwagerl shaped much of the design you see, overseeing the plantings and the construction of the park's features.

Admired by Olmsted

When the city hired John C. Olmsted in 1903 to draw up a full parks plan for Seattle, Kinnear Park was already complete, and it won him over. He praised its detail and its sweeping views over the Sound, holding it up as a model for the bluff parks he hoped Seattle would add over time, and he folded it into his citywide plan.

The City of Seattle later made Kinnear Park an official landmark, a fitting honor for a park with this much history.

Nearby landmarks and pocket gardens

Spend a little longer in the neighborhood, because several landmarks and small parks sit within about a quarter mile:

Chelsea Apartment Building (landmark), about 0.1 mile away
Bowen/Huston Bungalow (landmark), about 0.1 mile away
Blaine Place (park), about 0.2 mile away
Marshall Park (park), about 0.2 mile away
Parsons Gardens (park), about 0.2 mile away
Parsons Memorial Garden (landmark), about 0.2 mile away

With everything this close, it is easy to pair a dog walk at Kinnear Park with a short loop past historic buildings and gardens. For more ideas, explore our West Queen Anne neighborhood guide.