Salmon Bay Park, Ballard

Salmon Bay Park, these have become my favo(u)rite swings in Ballard.

Location: 19th Ave NW and NW Sloop Pl.
Number of swings: 4 regular, 2 baby
Ground material: Wood chips
Chain length: Long.


Wow. Rolling hills, very complete playground, quiet neighborhood surroundings. This park just feels right, for some reason. It's not an in-the-middle-of-everything location, but there's a strange nostalgia hanging over this park. The swings are the older style, so they've probably been there for a while. There is also a zipline, for those of you who love that sort of thing:


Come one, come all.


How to get there: Bus route 15 stops along 15th Ave NW, and the 18 and 75 stop along 24th Ave NW.

Green Lake Community Center

Green Lake is a very desirable and busy Seattle destination. My neighbor growing up was from Ballard, and said that back in the 30's, Green Lake would freeze over every winter, and they could ice skate. Nowadays it's perpetually liquid and honestly kind of weirds me out with its murkiness, yet I see people swimming in it all summer. There's a zoo on it; it must be full of flamingo poo. Go run around it or something.

Location: 7201 E Green Lake Dr N, eastern edge of Green Lake.
Number of swings: 6 regular, 2 baby seats, 6 baby buckets
Ground material: Wood chips
Chain length: Long.


Notice that 4 of the regular swings are the regular seat, and 2 of them are hard seats. Variety! And long chains. And lake views. All these things are good things. 6 swings means higher chance of snagging a seat, but this park is quite busy on nice days, so maybe you'll have to wait. Being in one of the most prominent parks in Seattle, these swings set a more-than-acceptable standard.


How to get there: The 48 runs along Green Lake Dr., and the 16 and 316 run along Woodlawn.

Sandel Playground, Greenwood

Why hello there, Sandel Playground. You are rather lovely.

Location: NW 92nd St & 2nd Ave NW
Number of swings: 3 regular, 2 baby buckets, 1 baby seat
Ground material: Wood
Chain length: Long.


Sandel Playground is the proper destination for your Greenwood park needs. Compared to its neighbo(u)r, Greenwood Park, the chains are longer, and the swings more plentiful. There's quite a large area of open grass as well.

How to get there: Bus routes 5 and 48 stop along 90th.