Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Police Department are holding an in-person community meeting to discuss ongoing after-hours parties at Golden Gardens Park. The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Golden Gardens bathhouse and is open to anyone who would like to attend.
According to organizers, the goal of the meeting is to hear neighbor concerns, outline current measures, and develop new strategies to curb the activity. Since May, neighbors have reported more than 30 loud, all-night parties at the park and boat launch with amplified music, alcohol and drug consumption, trash, and property damage.
Under Seattle Parks’ rules for 2025, Golden Gardens operates from 4 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. during the summer season (from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day). Outside summer months, the park hours run from 4 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. The now-permanent summer hours are a result of a pilot program Seattle Parks launched in recent years to help minimize late-night parties on the beach.
During summer, the park’s parking lot gates close at 10:30 p.m. Beach fires are permitted in designated fire pits but must be extinguished by 10 p.m., and no propane fire pits or personal fire rings are allowed. The park rules also ban amplified music, alcohol, and smoking, and require guests to burn only clean, natural firewood and fully douse fires before leaving.
City leaders expected to attend include AP Diaz, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation; Alex Ricketts, Chief of Staff at the Seattle Police Department; and Daisy Catague, Deputy Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation. Neighbors have proposed possible security measures, including improved lighting, mobile security towers, vehicle towing for illegal parking, and issuing citations.
Photo: Seattle Parks on Flickr