Discovery Park South Beach Trail
Updated: March 7, 2025
Spring 2025
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) has hired J.A. Brennan Associates to complete detailed designs and construction documents for the South Beach Trail. In addition, SPR has applied for a Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant to fund a portion of the trail improvements.
Location
Discovery Park, South Beach Trail, Seattle, WA 98199
Budget
$420,000 is the anticipated budget for the project from a combination of the Seattle Metropolitan Parks District funding, RCO grant funding, and donations from the Friends of Discovery Park.
Schedule
Planning, design and permitting: Early 2025- Summer 2026
Construction bid process begins: Summer 2026
Construction complete: Fall 2027
Project Description
In 2019, the Friends of Discovery Park led a design study that created a vision for improvements to the South Beach Trail. This project focuses on implementing the community’s vision for the trail, including improving trail safety and accessibility, addressing staircases that are in poor conditions due to erosion, and rerouting portions of the trail to less steep terrain and to create new viewpoints. The first phase of the project was completed in 2020 and consisted of improvements to the first several hundred feet of trail from the upper trailhead. The trail improvements placed on hold during the COVID-19 Pandemic and due to an unsuccessful State grant application.
The next phases of the project are anticipated to begin construction in 2026. The project timeline is influenced by the State grant funding award process and the limited construction work windows within Discovery Park because of wet conditions and bird nesting seasons.