Denny Blaine Park may look simple enough to access on a map: a small public beach with parking tucked into the historic Denny-Blaine neighborhood along Lake Washington Boulevard with easy street access, but anyone who has tried to visit on a sunny Seattle day knows that getting to the beach can be a struggle. If your plan is just to plug “200 E Lake Washington Blvd” into your favorite maps app, hop in the car, and hope for the best, you probably are going to arrive frustrated and having spent far longer looking for parking than you had planned for. So let’s take a moment to take a look at the best ways to get to the beach.
1. Transit
For those able, we highly encourage utilizing transit, and this is the preferred method of arrival for maximum sustainability. The closest transit line is Route 2, which drops you off along Madrona Dr, about a 15-minute, 0.5-mile walk from the beach. If you get off at the Lake Washington Blvd stop, the walk is along a mild slope and alternates between well-maintained sidewalks and wide street-shoulder asphalt with dirt-path portions. If you get off at the Maiden Dr stop, it is a significant downhill-sloped walk along a residential area with uneven sidewalks. There are stairs at the west end of Viretta Park that can be used to cut across. (Be sure to stop at the Kurt Cobain Memorial Bench!) This leads you directly to Denny Blaine Park.
2. Bikes and Scooters
Lake Washington Boulevard was designed with foot traffic and bicycles in mind, and it is a beautiful ride full of gorgeous natural sights, views of the lake, and historic architecture. The boulevard is a series of rolling slopes, but it is well worth the ride, and Seattle has tons of low-cost and convenient ride-share scooters and bicycles that are easy to pick up anywhere and go. One thing to be aware of, however, is that Denny Blaine Park has limited bike rack space and can become very crowded, meaning that, especially if you arrive later in the day, you may need to navigate your bicycle around other parkgoers, so arrive early if possible.
3. Personal Vehicles
Parking is extremely limited at Denny Blaine Park, and finding an open spot is very rare on a busy summer day. There is limited street parking as well in the area, so be prepared to walk a block or two to be able to drive your personal car to the beach. Please respect the neighborhood parking regulations and do not block driveways, fire lanes, or other restricted areas. To assist drivers, beachgoers have prepared this interactive parking map — also shown at the top of the page — to help people know which areas are allowed to park in, but please use your judgment, as this is not a live-updated map and conditions can change. If driving is your only option, we encourage the use of carpooling or rideshare services to reduce the number of cars on the road and impacts of parking on the neighborhood.