Denny Park, Denny Triangle

Denny Park. Everyone in Seattle knows where this is; it's right by the Space Needle! And the park is a little uninviting sometimes, but trust me, it's a beautiful place to sit on the grass and enjoy a lunchtime picnic. But there are no swings.

But this is a swinging blog, right? Well, there's a swingline! Or is it zipline? I'll tag it as zipline. Anyway, this is like a swing attached to a pulley attached to a cord. So you jump on and swing all the way down the track! There's another (slightly more exciting) one in Ravenna Park in the extreme north of the U-District. That park also contains real swings, and I will definitely post about it in the near future.

Location: Denny Way between 9th Ave N and Dexter Ave N.
Ground material: Wood chips


The swingline has black rubber grip, similar to the swings at Rogers Playground in Eastlake, but this is in much better condition. It may even be... *NEW* (cue gasps).
It's exciting.
For about 30 seconds.

Wanna go there?
There's a little bit of street parking.
Or a million buses go by there. Examples include: #8 stops in both directions at Denny Way and Westlake Ave. Or take any bus that goes to the Seattle Center. You can also take the SLUT/Seattle Streetcar to Westlake Ave & 9th.

Denny Park is also Seattle's oldest park. Read all about it at the wikipedia entry.

Cascade Park/Playground, Cascade

Nestled in the Cascade neighborhood just out of downtown is a cute little park and playground.

It's a dinky little park, but there are swings! Well, sort of.

Location: Harrison St. & Minor Ave. N
Swings: 1 regular, 1 seat
Ground material: Wood chips

I definitely judged this swing negatively before taking a seat. The chain is short, as if it were made for a child and not a 25-year-old (a child? at a playground? c'mon now). However, the swinging here was pretty decent. This is definitely not a destination swing, but if you happen to be nearby and feel the urge, give this swing a go.

While you swing, you get to look out over the grassy field. This playground has posted "rules" about how to play "Hot Lava." This is a game everyone has played on every playground for all time, but this was the first time I saw it actually posted at the playground. There was a little map showing children how to avoid dropping into the wood chip "lava." Maybe some day I'll edit this post and include a picture of it.

How to get there:
Street parking available.
Bus: #70, 71, 72, 73, 83 stop in both directions along Fairview Ave. at Harrison St. #25 stops in both directions along Eastlake Ave. at Harrison St.