Denny Park

City park · South Lake Union

Denny Park

City park · South Lake Union

4

100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

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Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null
Denny Park by null

Highlights

Park with a zipline swing, playground, and dog area  

Featured in Eater
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100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 Get directions

seattle.gov
@friendsofdennypark

Information

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100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 Get directions

+1 206 684 4075
seattle.gov
@friendsofdennypark
𝕏
@Seattleparks

Features

wheelchair accessible parking lot

Last updated

Sep 16, 2025

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@onthegrid

On the Grid : The Swing at Denny Park

"It may be the first park ever created in Seattle, but more importantly its the first swing set in our hearts. Feel the wind in your hair as you glide down a 30ft track to happy town. But seriously, its a really great way to unwind." - Wexley School For Girls

https://onthegrid.city/seattle/south-lake-union/the-swing-at-denny-park
View Postcard for Denny Park
@travelleisure

The Best Hotels in Seattle of 2024

"Formerly known as the Pan Pacific hotel, this 153-room property notably offers complimentary shuttle service around the downtown area for guests as part of their daily $20 amenity fee. Rooms and suites are generously sized, starting at 319 square feet; many have balconies where you can secure a photo-worthy view of the Space Needle, which is a short walk away. There’s also a well-appointed fitness center (located across the street), complete with Peloton bikes and dry saunas." - Sophie Dodd Sophie Dodd Sophie Dodd is a travel, wine and lifestyle writer.  Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines

https://www.travelandleisure.com/best-hotels-in-seattle-8744039
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@eater

Here Are the Food Trucks at South Lake Union Saturday Market in 2023 - Eater Seattle

"Reiter has also recruited pop-ups to do limited dates, like Uji Time, a Bay Area–based dessert chain that’s Insta-famous for its fish-shaped cones." - Harry Cheadle

https://seattle.eater.com/2023/4/13/23680796/south-lake-union-market-summer-2023-food-kottu-outsider-bbq
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@onthegrid

"The Swing at Denny Park, South Lake Union by Wexley School For Girls. It may be the first park ever created in Seattle, but more importantly its the first swing set in our hearts. Feel the wind in your hair as you glide down a 30ft track to happy town. But seriously, its a really great way to unwind."

Seattle
View Postcard for Denny Park

Michael James

Google
A great park to explore and walk through with huge trees and beautiful flowers in the spring and summer! You can see great views of South Lake Union downtown area through the trees with some cool building architectures.

Christine Doan

Google
Peaceful botanical park within South Lake Union. It is lined with many beautiful trees & wild flowers along a city backdrop. A great escape from the buzzy city life. My hotel was closeby so i was able to walk through & enjoy the views daily.

Rebecca Cooper

Google
Gorgeous to walk through. I’m so glad I got to see this while everything is blooming. My sinuses will hate me later but it’s worth it.

Anthony Schmitz

Google
Very peaceful and well maintained park located in the middle of downtown. There's a small playground for children, a small dog park, a few seating areas, and, when I was there, they had a large ground chess board to play for free.

Cory Redenbach

Google
Quaint little park in town nice trails and flowers and trees to break up the urban environment.

Laura Cogan

Google
Great little Urban Park with a small dog play area for Unleashed dog. It is right in the middle of Amazon territory. Good opportunity for coffee and a sandwich nearby.

Bill Schrier

Google
A small city park, not too noisy despite nearby traffic. Well-maintained although two years ago it was a tent city, which has now been cleaned up.

Louise Boilevin

Google
Its a beautiful park in Downtown Seattle 😍, i visited at sunset , its got kompan kids playground for kids ages 2 to 5 . Its got BBQ areas, its got lots of old beautiful trees and lots of grass areas , its got a fenced in dog park
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John T.

Yelp
Not much to say about this park as it is pretty small. I like how it's located in a pretty popular area. I also thought it was pretty cool how they had a oversized chess board and what seemed like a Connect4 set. This park also seemed pretty clean and safe despite the shady characters on the outskirts.
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Shayla B.

Yelp
I'm not a local here and I'm not sure how this park looks during the day, but at night it glows. It looks like they recently cleaned this park up because contrary to the other reviews, there were no homeless people hanging around. I came here during the night and walked along the pathway. It was truly a beautiful and peaceful walk, and I felt very safe. This park isn't too far from Downtown and you'll get a great view of the Space Needle. The walkways are short but enjoyable. Perfect for taking a light stroll or for walking your dog. There's a gated off-leash area for dogs in this park as well. I saw a few people there playing catch with their puppies. There were actually quite a few people out despite it being so cold. You'll find tables and a few large grassy areas with tall trees. What I really liked about this park was that the trees that line the walkway are covered in bright colorful lights. It kind of reminded me of Christmas. Such a pretty sight. There's a small parking lot next to the off leash area, but lots of street parking too. It's well lit, so you don't have to worry about walking in the dark if you're coming at night. If I lived in the area, this would be a park that I would frequent regularly.
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Judy T.

Yelp
During my visit to Seattle, I came here for a Winter Wonderland light exhibit that I saw o the plane magazine. I guess maybe the magazine hyped it up, but the park is a very small, cute park that had string lights on the lamp posts and some trees. It was a bit underwhelming but still pleasant for the community. Part of me wonders if there were more lights previously, because I did go on the last day and there were cranes parked in the center area waiting to be used to take the lights down. The lights were pretty! It was a nice short walker and there are a few tables and chairs out so you can relax.
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Daren D.

Yelp
It's an alright green space in the urban jungle. I took a nice brief stroll through and really hoped at a minimum it had great big green foliage with massive canopies, branches and leaves... score! The layout has a neat geometry with a focal point in the middle, which unfortunately likely has hobos napping on the benches. The center piece has pretty nice flowers and plants! And did I mention those awesome trees? There were a few big, majestic ones, as well, I think. Be smart walking around and especially over the grass.
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Marissa L.

Yelp
SATURDAY MORNING MARKET!!! Was a blast omg ! It is literally Quaint and cute . I forgot I was in downtown Seattle . I felt like I was back home in South Carolina , cute booths with amazing goods, foods, and much more . They all take card thank god!! The food is excellent! We had naan, gyro, special lemonade which was phenomenal , and we just walked around the area and enjoyed the great vendors that came out to share there amazingness!! I work right down the road so it was nice to get off and walk over . It was a great family day filled with fun in the sun, amazing food which you can smell from miles away, friendly people that are also there to enjoy the experience and great atmosphere! I highly recommend going to this market from the produce and foods !! I loved it !! Thank you !!
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Rishabh J.

Yelp
It's a nice park in the middle of Amazonia, but the only time I visit is during the night markets. It's a bit small for the night market and the lack of parking around it makes it a difficult place to go to. Also, the market is so crowded that it will take you 2 hours to get any food from a food truck.
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Sitara M.

Yelp
They recently reopened the park after making some changes. It feels more open with the tall shrubs along the road taken down; and has a new dog park and play area for the kids. There are quite a few children playing in the mornings and a lot of pedestrian traffic with folks going to work in the south lake union campus. Though it isn't a very large park, it's nice to have some greenery in the city and is quite pretty in the mornings. Towards the evening, there are more homeless people camping out in the park and people screaming at each other or smoking weed. Doesn't feel like a place where you'd want to hang out with kids or have a little picnic. It was way worse earlier and seems to have gotten a little better, but still not great. The dog park is quite small too. But with amazon employees being able to bring their dogs to work, it's nice to have a place close to the offices where the dogs can go have a fun time.
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Mary H.

Yelp
I like to cut through Denny Park on my way to work. It's so nice to have a bit of greenery in the middle of the city. Parks and Rec will change the flowers seasonally so it's really nice to see the various colors of the flowers in bloom. Today, I noticed that there was a piano in the park for anyone to use and enjoy. I wish that I could play the piano. Unfortunately I was too lazy to practice when I was a kid. 3 stars because it's a small park. The bums sometimes sleep on the benches there but they don't bother you.
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Daniel F.

Yelp
Another sprawling park in Seattle that is littered with homeless. This park is also home to an off-leash area for children and dogs alike. During the week, you will find a local food truck vendor that is selling meals to those who walk by during the day. The shade here makes it one of the cooler places in the city, especially in the heat of summer. Located near several landmark locations of Seattle, this park is often a cross roads on people's paths throughout the city. Construction in the area can make the approach somewhat congested, but if you're driving here you're making a huge mistake. Don't drive in Seattle. Stay on your feet and enjoy the scenery of another Seattle landmark park.
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Monyca W.

Yelp
This is a tiny off-leash dog park. I only stop there with my dog when I happen to be in that area for something else. Today I had a particularly bad experience though. There is the regular off-leash entrance which has the double gates so that if your dog somehow slips out, they can't go any further. But there are also other gates. Today, one of those gates was open and my dog slipped out and ran out across the street. It was really scary for me. Thankfully, I caught up with her (and learned the hard way that she has not mastered the command "come") but I would be very cautious about going back to that dog park with her. My friend checked out the gate later and realized it just wouldn't stay shut, there was something wrong with the latch. This is really dangerous and it should probably at least be tied shut or in some other way rigged to stay shut.
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Henry P.

Yelp
Walking through this park barefoot is sorta like playing Russian roulette, you'll never know if that needle you stepped on had your proverbial name on it. While the park is well maintained and the unsavory element is not as bad as it used to be a few years ago, after dark this not some place you want to be. I can't recommend it for kids either because drug use does go on their and you never know if someone left their spent needles lying about on the ground. Not something you want your kids to find. And let us not forgot the disposable latex products used by the professional who are in the area either.
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Jacques I.

Yelp
We cut through here to walk back to South Lake Union from Downtown, and there were several homeless people sleeping on the lawn, as well as a bunch of people smoking weed. The trash bins were so full that the trash was all over the floor around the bins, causing the place to smell. I felt bad for the kids playing in the small playground area because the stench/trash bins were close to that area and the smell was really strong...in addition to smelling marijuana in the air. The off-leash dog area for dogs is really, really small in a gravel pit. I would never go to this park just to hang out in.
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Kate S.

Yelp
I'll give it a 3 JUST for the awesome zipline swing-thing they have. Otherwise -- other people's comments about this place are totally legit. The park usually has at least one, if not several homeless-vagrant type peoples napping in the grass or talking to themselves while they wander bench to bench. Poo is in the grass and on the side-walk. I'll be nice and assume it is from lazy dog owners and not the aforementioned hobos. The park is also tiny... like, you can walk through and around it all together in like 5 minutes But it is green, has trees, and my dog likes running through it. That and the zipline swing make it an alright place to visit -- In the daylight that is.
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Calvin Y.

Yelp
This park is rather sketchy. People sleeping underneath trees, people sleeping on benches, and unidentified non-animal excrement on the pavement. But hey, they have a hanging zip-line in their half-ass excuse for a playground! That's like 2 cool points right there!
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Shaula M.

Yelp
The park re-opened a month ago after adding an off leash area, redoing the playground- it looks toddler friendly. Lots of cafe tables. Yes, there are loiterers of various types but I've never experienced threatening behavior, and the park is pretty busy.
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Steve O.

Yelp
I use to work by this park many a years ago...and not much has changed. During the day, kind of a cool place to have lunch..watch people..stare at the space needle..or catch a nap... But come the evening...well business meetings going down...ladies of the night going down...and just some other shady crap we shall not mention. Too bad such a good location..oh well
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Chris M.

Yelp
Maybe I should be, but I don't feel threatened by homeless people sleeping under shade trees or sitting or lying on a park bench. The park is theirs as much as it is ours, and I think any vagrant choosing to spend his/her time at Denny Park has pretty good taste. This park has something so few parks can boast: reaaaallly old trees! You don't need to read signs to know this is an old park; these huge trees tower overhead, creating a canopy in certain areas of the park. I don't hang out at Denny Park by myself at night, just like any other city park. On the contrary, I choose to walk through the park in the daytime whenever I'm down in the Denny/Dexter/Aurora area, just because of those stately trees. So, if the trees were to be cut down, this park would be worthless, but since they seem to be well-cared for and protected...I'm a huge fan of Denny Park and it's huge trees.
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Peter L.

Yelp
I've never gone here and not seen multiple homeless-appearing folk sleeping in the park. The park space is small, but definitely larger than it appears from being stuck in traffic on Denny. There is a playground on the north side of the park which looks relatively nice for what it is. There's also an off-leash dog section of the park which will let fido explore some of the myriad number of smells in the area. If you have a dog it might be useful to come here for the off-leash area. If you have a young kiddo it might be worth coming for the playground. If you're homeless you might find yourself here as the cops don't appear to boot anyone out. Other than those groups of people, it's unclear why anyone would come to this park. Because of these issues I can't see coming here to just hang out -- especially with lake union being so close by -- the facilities at the south border of lake union are orders of magnitude cleaner, nicer, safer, and more scenic. Your opinion may differ but I can't imagine anyone truly going out of their way to hang out here.
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Cathy G.

Yelp
gggeeeeazzzz I am an outdoors person. I love the outdoors. I have spent hours whiling away the day reading, suntanning, daydreaming, teaching yoga .. and ,more in city parks.. and yet! I am scared of this park. I go by and see peopelesleeping on the grass.. ok, it's 48 degrees out. Sleeping on wet grass with no blankets or tarps. Come on Seattle! Mayor! STOP big building and handle social problems.
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Megan J.

Yelp
Despite the bad reviews, I was happy there was an off-leash dog park near my new apartment, because something is better than nothing, right? Uh...maybe. The off-leash area is very small, rocky (like no grass, all rocks) with a short chain link fence (3-4', too tall for my little guy but I'm assuming big dogs jump out all the time). Neither of the double gates were closed, so I closed them behind us as I hesitantly let him off and walked around the perimeter to make sure the other gates were shut. There's nothing for the humans like shade or benches. Also, at 5:30 on a weekday there was no one else there, that's probably a bad sign, right? My dog doesn't love off-leash areas enough for us to come back. The park itself is nice, SLU is a great area now and Denny Park is NOT a drug dealer and homeless hang out.
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Adrienne D.

Yelp
I have to admit I've never been in this park so my opinion might not be as informed as it could be. But I'm okay with that and have no plans to change it any time soon. I grew up in Seattle and attended Denny middle school (named after the same Denny party who deeded the land that is Denny park to the city) where as you can imagine, they make a point to teach the students about the Denny party. The original Denny's donated the land from their plot to the city back in the day for a cemetery. David "doc" Maynard (another founding father of Seattle) and some other notables were buried there. Until, that is, the Denny's got the idea just a few short years later to rededicate the land to be a public park. So they just dug up all the graves and moved them. I'm not making this up. http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=309 I don' t know about you but I've always gotten the willies from that park even when it's empty and in the daylight and I avoid the entire area after dark if I can. I have never once in my thirty plus years in Seattle felt the need to go hang out in a park that is build on ground that once was the consecrated grave site (or creepier still, land that was about sixty feet under the grave site as the original Denny Park stood on Denny Hill prior to the regrade) of the only founder of Seattle that was interesting to learn about in school.
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Andrew Y.

Yelp
I like this park. They host events throughout the year. I also come here to play basketball. Great place for recreation. You will find homeless sleeping in the grass but don't mind them.
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Monica B.

Yelp
I love the history of this park! It's a great place for kids to play, for office workers to have lunch, or for folks to bring their dogs to the off-leash area (if they follow those rules).
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Jerry G.

Yelp
The only interesting thing about this park is the history. In the late 1800s it wasn't a park but a cemetery later all the bodies were dug up and relocated. Later it became Denny Park. Unfortunately today it's not very pleasant. Although it's still pretty but what you'll find here are homeless people sleeping, intoxicated and/or urinating in public, hypodermic needles in the grass and shady kids selling weed. It's too bad really...
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Natalie S.

Yelp
I agree with the other posts. I am visiting Seattle from San Diego and staying downtown. After persistent begging for a trip to the park from my three year old I decided to take the 9 block trek over (despite the reviews) to Denny park. it was the middle of the day. I found myself constantly looking for people that could help me if we got into trouble. I am okay with homeless people minding their own business. but when you see people that appear to be strung out on drugs it DEFINITELY is time to take your little one home. I did not feel safe with my son and won't take him there again.
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Trish K.

Yelp
Tiny Off Leash area for dogs, but it is better than nothing. It's nice that the other side of it is a not so busy street so cars coming by isn't as frequent.