Golden Gardens Park

About

Beach fires in fire pits only. For 2022, fire rings are open May 28 to September 4. Full beach fire details

Located in Ballard on Puget Sound, this popular park offers extraordinary views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. This park features two wetlands, a short loop trail, and restored the northern beach. Golden Gardens offers strolls along a rugged coastline, hikes through forest trails, sunbathing on sandy beaches, fishing from a pier and a boat launch consisting of 300' of shoreline at south end of park. The park is also home to an off-leash area for dogs in the upper northern portion of the park. Dogs are not allowed on beaches, or children's play areas in Seattle parks, per the Seattle Municipal Code.

History

The park was named by and developed by Harry W. Treat in 1907 as an "attraction" at the end of the new electric car lines being built by realtors to induce townfolk to take a "Sunday outing" out of town and through the woods to a picnic or swim at a beach. (Along the way they were made aware of the real estate available!) The Carbine ended at Loyal Way (& 85th) with a steep twisting dusty path down into the park - or those owning a "tin lizzie" could drive down a dusty county road (approximately the present drive entering the upper park from the north) and down to a small parking area on the east side of the railroad tracks, then by foot across the tracks to the beach. At that time the northern half of Meadow Point (named by the Coast Guard) was the site of a shipyard until 1913. To the south the beach curved in along the railroad seaway - all the way to Salmon Bay. The State owns the tidelands south of the park, with boat works and yards by the Bay.

Beach Volleyball Court Use

Visit our ActiveNet reservation site to view availability and reserve a court. Filter the search by the preferred date and time, and all courts that do not have a current reservation on them will pop up. The per court fee is $8/hr, per court. Players must bring their own nets and ball. 

During business hours, individual courts can also be reserved by submitting a reservation application to the Athletics Scheduling Office. Please submit applications to Christopher.Powell@seattle.gov. The per court fee is $8/hr, per court. Players must bring their own nets and ball. Court use is high in summer and scheduling well in advance is advised.

Golden Gardens Park has 6 courts; two of these are set aside for free drop-in play on a first come, first served basis. The drop-in courts are just south of the bathhouse, near the picnic area.