Madison Park

Busy but fun! Come early and enjoy the free beach (: plenty of parking and local stores to bring the family along. Beautiful waters and location is amazing.

Madison park beach doesn't appear to be that special when you first stumble upon it. However, today was such a beautiful day; there's ample parking. Easy access to the street and ramps for wheel chair accessibility which is rare in Seattle, this park beach is small. It's not exactly a beach if you're from Southern California. But if you're from a place that doesn't have beaches then I guess you're in for a treat. You have access to rocks, water and some what clean areas. People are always walking their dogs. Unfortunately the place smells like marijuana due to the immense amount of young college kids in the area. The pro tips are great access to parks. Limited benches and it's a great view of the mountains. If you're parking and go to the top of the hill you can get a decent view. Pictures are from a sunny day.

Madison Beach Park is a small park right on the waterfront. Very popular with swimmers and there's a lifeguard on duty during the summer months (depending on staffing availability). There are also tennis courts and a playground area. Definitely not that big of a park, seems like the biggest draw is the waterfront.

Pretty area with parking options, small beachfront for water play. Signs say no dogs in playing areas or athletic fields which are both across the street from the beach. I was told my leashed dogs weren't allowed within 15 yards of the beach by the lifeguard within minutes of arriving so it was a wasted trip for us.

Throwing caution and smartphone-navigation to the wind to enjoy Seattle's scenic roads lead us to this must-stop. We accidentally stumbled onto the park as a result of a wrong turn after visiting the local Japanese Garden. The tiny beach cove was my favorite discovery on our getaway. Perfect timing, considering it was the middle of summer and the cool water was very inviting. So much so that I dove right in.. cargo shorts and all. I cant speak for the weekend crowds but it felt like we had the beach to ourselves in the middle of the week. Maybe I'm used to So Cal's murky beach water but swimming towards the floating dock, equipped with diving boards, I couldn't get over the waters clarity. Just past the buoys about 50yards out and I could still vaguely make out the seabed. Washington's picturesque scenery is surreal enough without Mount Rainer's snow-capped peak as your summer swim's backdrop. Breathtaking! We will definitely be back here our next Seattle visit -with a blanket, cheese, vino and proper swim trunks.

Better than I was expecting! Although it was quite busy for a Friday..the weather was perfect and still didn't have a problem finding a spot to lay out a couple towels and sunbathe! The water wasn't all that cold so it was quite nice. Would recommend and WILL be going again!

This is one of our favorite parks in Seattle! This is an older mature park that has been updated with some great playground equipment. Our 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter love the zip-line, swings, ropes, spinning cups, slides, etc. There are so many things to climb on and explore! The park is filled with beautiful mature trees with some of the largest acorns you'll ever see! There are plenty of areas to sit and watch the kids play and relax. Lots of open space to run. There are lots of areas where you can position yourself as a parent where you can obstructive views to keep an eye on the children. Stroller friendly when you enter from the west side of the park as well. Across the street are great shops! Children's toy shop, clothing shop, bakery, restaurants, and a great shop with wonderful cooking gadgets! In the summertime we always remember to bring our swimsuits as just across the street is a public beach where the kids can splash around and play in the water on hot days and dig around in the sand. There is also a public restroom across the street by the lake. It's not great, but it's better than nothing. Wonderful location to burn some energy and relax for a bit. Love this Madison Park neighborhood, the community and this park!

Charmed! This urban beach area is also flanked by a tennis court, a charming block of shops and restaurants, and a very good playground with some unique equipment (a mini swing/zip line contraption). It was a lovely diversion for our party, which included a young child. Bathrooms are in the white boathouse to the left of the beach and they included soap, towels, etc. like all good bathrooms should. The view was great from this location (on a sunny day). You could see mountains, enjoy the gentle lapping waves, and squish your toes in legit sand.

excellent views of Lake Washington facing towards Bellevue, Medina, and Yarrow Point, WA. with free street parking! very close shops and restaurants! 華盛頓湖的美景, 面向貝爾維尤, 麥迪那, 和亞羅點, 華盛頓州。免費停車!非常接近的商店和餐廳!

During The Seattle Heat Wave: July 2009, my girlfriend Jessica and I went to Madison Park for swimming, lounging and eating. I didn't know people swim here! And they DO, lots and lots of people.. (see photo)... We lay on the grass, made conversation with others around us, and swam on floaties. We met so many nice people that day in the water -- guys throwing a football, young parents with their babies, cute gay guys splish spashing :) It was AWESOME. Then we ate at one of the million cute restaurants/cafes on Madison Ave (they even have a Cactus!), completing our wonderful day. And thus, we avoided having a heatstroke in our air condition-less apartments.

I've never lived around lakes, so going swimming in Lake Washington yesterday was an exciting event. I can't imagine a more ideal set-up. It was a perfect day: a stretch of attractive people and their colorful towels patchworked against the green grass...and beyond, Lake Washington blue and cool and sparkling. The water was a little cold at first, but once you strode past those initial few steps it felt amazing. I was really excited to swim out to the dock with two diving boards and jump off the high dive. I want to go back today...and tomorrow..."and all the days forever more!" ...well, as long at it's warm, anyway...

It's a beautful, quiet little park during the winter months. Lots of cormorants and other seabirds hanging around the waterfront. I find it very ironic that it's at the end of a very affluent neighborhood and yet the lifeguard stands and bath house were so weathered, they looked like they were about to fall over with the next wave. Let's spend some of those hard earned tax paid $$ and fix the place up.

"This is soooooo cute. This is sooooo cute. I'm so living here." Yes, when I saw this town and park there was tons of squealing. First off, the town is absolutely adorable. What a cute place! (there i go again). The beach is equally as adorable with a grassy knoll instead of sand - perfect for an afternoon or even just a five minute lie in the sun. And, best yet or worst if you love sand, no need to clean the sand from the inner toe regions! The park itself is also pretty large with a play structure. The only issue might be parking - but we got lucky! Overall, squeal....that's my opinion.

Madison Park Beach is a nice "beach". "Beach" is quoted in parentheses because there is more grass than sand here. Nevertheless, this is a lovely waterfront area along Lake Washington to spend some time at. There is an interesting mix of sunbathers here. Families seem to enjoy the sandy side, while the young and restless types prefer the grassy areas. The location itself here has a good view of 520 and the nothern side of Lake Washington, though the slightly inland location obstructs the view towards Mercer Island. The day I was visiting, noticed there was a couple of curious ducks walking along the beach. Not sure if they are residents of the beach or just visiting for the day. If you don't feel like driving to Alki Beach in West Seattle or Golden Gardens in Ballard, Madison Park Beach is your best bet for sunbathing by the waterfront within the core of the city.

Steps to gradually ease in to the water, beautiful skyline/views, lots of grassy beach space to spread out on. The bathrooms are kind of gross Seattle park bathrooms, but they are super close to the water and lawns, which is convenient. Swimming is great, with two diving boards and a little dock. Swim area is roped off, and apparently never has a lifeguard. Great place to swim, picnic, or soak up sunshine.

The stars are for the beach. The written review is for the playground. Playground: Parks and rec came in, removed the swings and replaced the zipline seat with a weird rubber pole. This was a great playground before things were removed. The sign states safety reasons but I never saw anything wrong with either the zip line or the swings. I'm not understanding why they removed the seat from the zip line. That was the easiest to use zip line and now it's a rubber pole that shorter kids can't use. The only swings they kept are the baby swing and the yellow swing seat, which doesn't have a harness and wobbles.

*Swimmers edition* This review is a result of water quality. I decided I would swim laps at Madison park, terrible idea. I am not the allergic type but my nasal passages would fill with mucus. The water bottle I used after swimming had a white/pink growth in the left over water when I checked it several days later. The city needs to do something about the lakes water quality. Also, and I recognize this is a difficult problem, but there are gaggles of geese that just deficcate all over the swimming area. If you are just going in to float it's fine and the beach area is ok, although at times also covered in geese poop. Had to give up swimming here. If you just go to lay out its a free park and I give it 4 stars.

This is a real gem in the middle of the city. It has the perfect playground for kids. And the beach itself during the summer makes you think of what Seattle would be like if it we were a thousand miles closer to the equator :-) The fishing is good on the pier to the south. The people watching is terrific as there are everyone from families to teens to all kinds of people just hanging around during the summers. And there is a whole collection of restaurants nearby if u get hungry or thirsty. And if unwanted to make your own Bert's is terrific. The playground is right next door and has recently been renovated. Perfect for kids.

There's not much to add to what's already been said. It's not a sandy beach, there's grass all the way up to the cement drop into the water, but it is a spacey enough area to accommodate the many people that come to lay out and swim. The swim area is pretty nice and there is a floating platform with two diving boards. You can see the 520 bridge from here and more impressively Mt. Rainier. The water was really nice when I came here the other day, I just jumped right in. The lifeguards there are hardcore, like baywatch and stuff. I also like the Madison Park area which offers restaurants and shops close by. Be careful first stepping in, there are some brutal rocks in some areas where you step in, but once you get past them you'll want to spend some time in the water.

Madison Park Beach is a gem for water-lovers like me. Pros: + Lifeguard on duty during the "active" months + Great view of downtown Bellevue from the shore + Plenty of room on the grass to spread out, and scattered benches in the park portion + Access to bathrooms + Water quality was nice when I went, you can always check online to see how clean the water will be on any given day. No algae, clear blue water. + Access to a low dive and high dive, very fun + FREE + Parking is available near the beach and also in the surrounding area No cons! I discovered Madison Park late in the summer this year, but next year this will be our local beach to soak up the rays, I highly recommend this beach.

Even in the middle of May weather in Seattle, this is a beautiful beach spot to enjoy a snack and soak tired toes in the water after running around at Madison Park. Don't get me wrong, the water was really cold and I didn't understand how those kids were enjoying it but even my kid wanted to jump in - overalls and all. It must be a young metabolism thing. The family side seems to be where most of what sand this sand-less beach has to offer: to the very right near the waterfront condos. The left side was mostly college students in hipster hats and cut off jeans-made-into-capris. There was plenty of sun peeking through the shade to sit down and have a mini-picnic. Plenty of shade, grass, and people to people watch but not crowded on a Tuesday afternoon in May. 'twas veddy nice.

Lovely for sure. Wide beautiful beach, gorgeous view, the only tricky part is parking. It's tough and the traffic areas are tight, one way street, running kids, you know, watch yerself. I'm going to vote for nicest swimming area close in, although I have more 'secret' places that aren't as crowded, this one is the most traditional 'beach' of any Seattle has to offer. You'll see folks laying out, sunning, swimming, you know, stuff we Seattlites aren't good at.

Of the beach options in this city Madison gets my vote. During my school years I spent every damn sunny day down there doing homework, playing cards with friends and cooling off in the water. I like how we all decided where our sections were, too. From the north and heading south were the gay section, the family section and the punk rock section (now the hipster section). A dock to swim out to and dive off is good as well as midnight skinny dipping. I took my kid here for years and now she hangs out there all the time when the sun is out. Good times.

This was my fortress of solitude all summer long! Although i wasn't really alone with all the gorgeous people around i could get tons of relaxing time and SUN !!! beautiful view beautiful people and great times!!! come come and get wet !! ipb

With all the nice weather we've been having, I've been saddened by the fact that getting home at 7pm is interfering with my sunshine time. It has made me long for a day of dipping my toes in the water. I work downtown and have taken time off here and there to get away. A short bus ride up the street and I can get away from it all. I love sitting on one of the benches, eating my lunch and staring at the water. I think the park could use a few more interactive pieces - both to sit on and to admire. Granted, there's something to be said for simplicity but honestly, Seattle has gorgeous parks and it seems like this one could use a bit more love. When the flowers and trees are in bloom, I take my camera and take pictures there. The shots are beautiful! All in all, a solid park that offers a serene experience in my beloved city.

My nephews' favorite park! The fairly-recent revamp has resulted in safe but fun climbing structures, including a spider web and a couple seriously steep slides, swings, as well as a lot of pavement for scooter and trike riding. Across from the kids' park is the "adult" park. The south side of the beach is straight, the north is gay. Both sides respect each other. The straight side is a younger (high school/college) crowd, on the gay side anything goes. There is a lifeguard in the summer, a deck thing out a ways (not sure what they are called), with a diving board. The Red Apple store nearby sells picnic supplies, including single-serving wine in plastic bottles (my favorite picnic item), and there are plenty of fun places to eat and drink after the sun sets. Madison Park is fun for kids and grownups alike. More wholesome grownups would enjoy the tennis courts and the lifeguarded lap swimming. The even wholesomer (i.e. parents entertaining their kids) love the easily-supervisable play area and play structures designed to minimize falls and injuries. I enjoy it on all spectra.

I love this part of Seattle, especially because of the Madison Park Beach. It's peaceful and quiet with great views. There are benches, but most people just hang out on the grass. It's also walking distance to a strip of restaurants.

This Saturday, I headed down to the beach at Madison Park for a dip in Lake Washington. The Beach was crowded, but we were able to find a lovely spot on the grass to spread out our towels. There is a sandy section at the south end of the swimming area, but along most of the beach, the grass runs right up to a series of three stone steps that lead to the water. The lake bottom is an even mix of sand and round stones near shore turning to just sand further out. There is a roped off shallow area that extends to 4 or 5' in depth. Beyond that, more experienced swimmers can head out to a floating dock with high and low diving boards, provided there is a lifeguard on duty. I should note that the diving dock rocks in the waves whenever a boat passes, which can make diving a bit treacherous. The beach is adjacent to a lovely commercial district with some restaurants, a pub and a number of quaint shops. There is 1 and 2 hour back in parking in front of the shops and parallel parking along the beach. Overall, Madison Park is an excellent spot to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.

A cute spot to lie out and look at the Cascades. It was much smaller than I expected and quite packed on a warm summer Saturday, but then... the greatest beach rule I've seen in years: NO DOGS. Thank god, no smelly hound kicking sand in my face while I'm trying to relax, no clandestine piles of shit lurking in the grass for me to step in. Praise be to the Seattle park gods. The swimming area also had an "adults only" section. Being the anti-child, anti-dog misanthrope that I am, it's good to know I can do some laps in peace. Now they just need a special roped-off section for douchebags; otherwise, they've got everything else covered.

Like this is so nice! Omg the grass is green, the water is blue, the mountains are white, the serene majesty of nature is reluctantly married to the not so enpissing views of freeway 520. Can't wait to go for a dip as soon as the lake warms up. Nice little comfortable neighborhood beach.

MY FAVORITE SANDLESS BEACH EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean yea itd be nice to have some sand but nah its ok the grass was a-ok! its beautiful there. good amount of trees for shade. i didnt go in the water but theres a diving board that looked super fun! plus the beach is in a really cute neighborhood. just a couple blocks away are a bunch of shops, an ice cream parlor, and coffee shop. its funny because when i went it was crowded but not too crowded where you couldnt find anywhere to sit. but it seemed like the beach was split into 3 sections. there werent signs that people had to sit in those sections it seemed just like a known thing where to sit. kind of like the cafeteria in high school. there was a section of families and then a section of all the young hipster type folks and then at the other end there were all the gay men and women along with foreigners. it was cute cause everyone sat in their sections and seemed like they were all having fun!!! i know i was!!!

Good place to take a dip and dive off the provided diving boards, but a little too much geese poop for me to call this place amazing. Food and drinks are located nearby. No worries about that. However, on a hot day, you're sure to run into space issues if you want to play some games. Overall, it's great for the locals. But as far as beaches go, it really isn't much to brag about.

Awesome place for the sunny half of the year! My friend used to have two restaurant jobs in Madison Park, so if I ever wanted to see him, I would drive down and meet him at this park for his hour break. It's not usually crowded, and the view is spectacular. You can just make out the Gates Mansion.

This is one of my favorite spots in Seattle! Especially on a sunny day. Grab a bite/beverage and a trash magazine (ok, or a good book) and head over to park yourself on the grass. What a perfect afternoon!

Absolutely beautiful park tucked away in the neighborhood. Very easy access down to the water and a nice open grass area just before the sand. The sand did look a little more rocky, so I would advise a bit of caution stepping on it. Has a beautiful view, but I'm sure parking can be an issue.

AWESOME view of Lake Washington!!! I love that the benches are so close to the water so you can sit and take in the view. The sound of the waves crashing on the steps was soothing. I stumbled upon this park with my dog since we are in the area to meet up for dinner. My dog was tempted to go in the water but I had to reel her back to me since dogs aren't allowed on Seattle beaches :-( (except for designated areas like Magnusson's). She had her eyes on the ducks and other birds. I would totally come back with food or a good book to read. The park is sorta small so it would be a quick walk about the park along with some sniffing by your dog. Hopefully, your dog can calm down so you can relax a while on the bench.

Fun lifeguard chair, stairs down into the water, dock, VIEWS. Add a little sun into this equation and you've got yourself an urban outdoor wonderland!! Besides the goose poop everywhere, this park is superb! There is a Big Toy to die for -- good for adults and kids!! That spinny thing?? OH MAN it's a blast!! You can get some killer pictures of your friends (or kids) on this thing. There's tons of space to lay down (remembering my former goose poop comment...) and absorb some of Seattle's rare vitamin D. Very easy and plentiful street parking. 2 hour limit during business hours.

Love this place when the weathers nice It's packed Cool diving board platform you can swim out to pretty easily Had a great time

Great view of Lake Washington. Grab some food and walk down there, but careful of the ducks. They're aggressive and just plain rude. Good swimming beach too.

Love...lots of people. ..great place to gather with friends. Or relax..fun place to be...

I been going to Denny Blaine and Howell park for a whole. but I would like to know if this park is nude-friendly or not. could anyone tell me if it is or not? or if u know any other places that are? thank u!

Ahhh a nice little beach in Madison Park area. It is crowded in middle of the day. There are parking challenges.. this is Seattle!! ride your bike or take a bus! Many sweet and picturesque shops and restaurants are nearby. I worked for a promotion company last summer here and we distributed our promos here, so I watched the sun come up and met many walkers by as well as people who work inthe area. I was entranced as the day continued. A small group.. 3.. came out to swim at 5 am.. and froze .. they were training for some event.. then slowly the walkers and joggers.. The view is fantastic.

A great beach to lay in sun and people watch, mostly a park like grass slope with a small pebble beach, bath house and restrooms. A younger crowd and seemingly a lot of college folk and neighborhood kids. Lifeguards on duty and a swim out dock with 2 dive boards of different heights. Adjoins the restaurants district of Madison Pak so easy to grab a bite or cocktail as well.

I walked around for 2 min, saw that there was no high or low dive like the website advertised and I left. Beach was unappealing but in pics it looked nice. Trash everywhere, hipsters in underwear. Yuck. Will never come

Sure, there's barely any sand. Sure, it's packed worse than Calcutta on a hot summer Saturday. But it's the best beach we poor beach-challenged Northwesterners have. I went over to Madison Beach today, and the water was warm, the views of Mount Rainier were spectacular, and the guys were REALLY hot. I don't know how South Beach gets its reputation for beautiful people, but Madison Beach is certainly no slouch. Most cities don't have semi-decent places to sit in the sun, so I feel proud, proud of the grassy knoll where we can soak up the skin cancer for 23 sunny days each year!

Wow... Lived in Seattle my whole life and finally went to Madison Park Beach. Lovely little spot! Nice place to catch some sun on the lawn! It was mellow, family-friendly on one side, and what appeared to be "hipster-friendly" on the other side. I approve!

cool spot for smoking weed at 12 am with the rich kids and their ghetto friends from the valley. town business son

A Nice little quiet beach. Good enough for kids to play around.

I grew up in this area.... ok well not really but I spent a ton time down here as a kid. I got to know almost all the merchants and the area pretty much as well as anyone could. I've spent more time here then anywhere else except my hometown south of seattle. I love it. The merchants are friendly, the streets are clean, the people in general are just plain nice, and there's nothing better then a warm day sitting on that "beach" or walking through the parks playground pretending to be 8 years old and wishing they had never taken the death trap merry-go-round away... Its a fun place to be.