9 Hidden-Gem Playgrounds With Beautiful Views
Photo:
Airplane sculpture and zip lines at Westcrest Park with Mt. Baker in the distance. Credit: Shelley Bjornstad
Westcrest Park, West Seattle
Editor's note: The play structure at Westcrest is getting an upgrade starting in the spring of 2023, so the play equipment is off-limits right now. But this is still a great spot to walk the trails, play with your dog and enjoy the view. For playground play, head to one of the nearby parks mentioned below.
Wonderful Westcrest Park in West Seattle was expanded in 2015 and now has even more kid-friendly features. Bring bikes for kids to ride loops on the paved path that circles the upper section of the park. Parents and caregivers can walk and look across at Beacon Hill and the Cascade Mountains or at shining Mount Baker in the distance. The playground has a wooden play structure, two zip lines, a net climber and a spinning net. Don’t miss the two slides that plummet down the hillside. Miles of easy hiking trails crisscross the forest at the south end of the park.
Location: 9000 8th Ave. S.W., West Seattle. Free parking is available in three separate parking lots. For the playground, enter at Eighth Avenue Southwest and Southwest Cloverdale Street. Buses stop on Ninth Avenue Southwest near the park.
Also nearby: Highland Park Playground has a seasonal spray park and sits a quarter-mile to the west. Roxhill Park, just a little over a mile to the west, entices kids with a super-fun castle-themed play structure.
Up next: Groveland Beach, Mercer Island
