Madrona Playground, Madrona

The Madrona Playground in the Madrona neighborhood is a gem. It's a new-ish park, and there are some fun toys to play on/bring your children to play on.

Location: 33rd Ave & E Marion St
Number of swings: 2 regular, and another set with 1 baby swing and some hanging chains that once were attached to a swing of some kind.
Ground material: Wood chips
Chain length: Medium.


The chains were medium-long, I'd say, but they were thicker than what I usually find in Seattle.



I was impressed by this park. It was full of people attending some sort of bbq when I came through, but getting a spot on the swings wasn't a problem. The chain length was such that I could get some good momentum.

How to get there: Bus routes #3 and 84 stop at 34th St. in both directions.

Powell Barnett Park, Central District

Powell Barnett Park in the Central District is awesome. It's pretty new, and the toys there are big enough to enjoy even if you're a 6'1" adult as myself. Cool park, ok-ish swings.

Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Way & E. Jefferson St.
Number of swings: 2 regular, 1 baby bucket, 1 baby seat
Ground material: Wood chips
Chain length is short.


These swings are noteworthy because they have hard inflexible seats. (side note: "inflexible" was a word I missed in the 6th-grade spelling bee, and it haunts me to this day) It's fun to have a hard swing seat option; your hips don't get any pressure from the sides. Go to this park. Now.


How to get there: Bus routes #3, 8, 84.