Earlier Alki Beach closing time – and fire-ring season – to return starting Friday

(WSB file photo)

Once again calling it “a pilot,” Seattle Parks has just confirmed it’ll close Alki Beach (and Golden Gardens) nightly at 10:30 pm starting Friday (as the Alki Community Council had been told) and this year continuing for a few weeks beyond Labor Day. Beach-fire season will start Friday, too, with a later nightly end time. Here’s the announcement just sent by Parks (with a link you can use for feedback):

Seattle Parks and Recreation will enact a pilot shortening the hours at Golden Gardens and Alki Beach during the 2024 summer months from 4 A.M.-10:30 P.M. from May 24-September 22. And a return to 4 A.M. – 11:30 P.M after September 22.

The shortened hours will assist in addressing dangerous and/or illegal behavior typical of summer evening uses at these two parks in response to public input and nearby community complaints.

This program is a pilot and will be reviewed at a Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners meeting after the summer to help determine the best operating hours for the public. This review will be informed by public comments from the questionnaire below, public comment given at the Board meeting, and data collected throughout the pilot period.

During the Summer 2024 Season, Seattle Parks and Recreation staff, assisted by Seattle Police Department staff, will begin closing down these two beach locations starting at 10:00 P.M.

Public input can be provided here.

Additionally, designated fire pits will be available for beach fires this summer beginning Friday, May 24, 2024.

Beach Fire and Park Rules

Starting Friday, May 24, 2024, designated fire pits will be available for beach fires at Alki Beach and Golden Gardens seven days a week on a first come, first served basis. Bringing your own fire pit is not allowed, and no propane fire pits/rings are allowed.

-Fires must be extinguished by 10 p.m.
-Fires allowed 7 days a week starting Friday, May 24 through Sunday, September 22.
-Staff will be on-site to manage and assist with putting out fires at 10 p.m.
-Parking lot gates will be locked and the park will close at 10:30 p.m. for summer hours.
-Please only burn clean (natural, bare, dry cord-wood) wood and douse your fire completely before leaving.
-Light a fire ONLY in one of the installed fire containers
-Use only clean, dry firewood
-Please douse your fire with water, not sand
-Fires are not allowed during air pollution alerts; we will post sign
-Please don’t remove any materials from the park, beach or dunes
-Please dispose of trash and ashes in the containers provided for each. (SMC 18.12.260)
=Be considerate of others–please, no loud or amplified music! (SMC 18.12.170)

Remember, no alcohol or smoking are allowed, and parks are drug-free zones. Beach fire rules are outlined in detail in the Seattle Municipal Code section 18.12.270 and in our Beach Fires Policy.

If you see an illegal fire, call 911. For current burn ban and air quality questions, contact Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

Fire pits at Golden Gardens and Alki are unlocked between 4-5 p.m. starting May 24. Please extinguish all beach fires (using water, not sand) by 10 p.m. in order to ensure that all fires are completely extinguished in ample time before the park’s closure.

The fires-out time is half an hour later than last year, and the end dates are later too; last year, the early closing time and beach fires all ended right after Labor Day.

31 Replies to "Earlier Alki Beach closing time - and fire-ring season - to return starting Friday"

  • Carson May 20, 2024 (4:06 pm)

    Great news! Even better if they started to restrict parking to residents only

    • ResidentParking May 20, 2024 (4:12 pm)

      Does that mean you support resident only parking everywhere?

    • Bibliophile May 20, 2024 (4:19 pm)

      As in Alki only residents??  Ugh. Can we just not with this absolute nonsense?!?!

    • Alki resident May 20, 2024 (7:08 pm)

      Feel free to sell your car. I’ll be happy to take your spot. 

    • Alki is a PUBLIC park May 20, 2024 (10:38 pm)

      So, Carson, you want Alki Park and every Alki business sold to condo and apartment developers so only Alki residents can park in the area?

    • Mellow Kitty May 21, 2024 (6:36 am)

      If you want to live on a private beach, go move to a private beach. 

    • Jason May 21, 2024 (8:05 am)

      Oh so the beach is your private back yard? No. Get a garage permit if you need parking. You do not own the main corridors. You can do permit parking on the few side roads like Bonair etc., but NOT Alki Ave.

  • Derp May 20, 2024 (4:11 pm)

    Personally, I pay taxeson this city and will park whereever I want and whenever I want. Your privilege is showing

    • AK May 21, 2024 (9:47 am)

      @Derp Agreed! As a long time resident and married to a 3rd generation west Seattleite, I will be going to the beach after 10:30 like I always have!! 

  • a May 20, 2024 (4:53 pm)

    @Derp:
    1: what are “taxeson”?
    2: congratulations on the fastest transition from “I’ll do whatever I want, whenever” to “Your privilege is showing”.
    If that post wasn’t satire, I need my eyes checked

    • Derp May 20, 2024 (6:45 pm)

      A: I pay taxes in this city. Only people that live in Alki are privileged to ask for resident parking.  Not sure what your problem is. You bought the place,. Nobody forced you to buy here.  Leave if you don’t like it. Not satire A. 

  • SkyB May 20, 2024 (5:42 pm)

    So curious. Was walking on Alki after dinner last night and saw two fires.  I guess beach fire season is whenever for some people. 

  • Torvald May 20, 2024 (5:49 pm)

    I always find it regrettable that the fire pits are removed at the end of the summer.  Fall and winter seem the better time to have fires on the beach.   Couldn’t the Parks Dept leave one or two fire pits avavailable during the winter months?  If only as part of a “pilot period”?’

    • GF May 23, 2024 (8:45 am)

      Gee, Tor…  that, like…  makes sense.  Logical, reasonable, and scale-able as it could be expanded or curtailed easily.  As one commenter noted, people build fires off season anyway. (Ever considered running for City Council?)

  • JTinWS May 20, 2024 (6:21 pm)

    I’m sad it’s come to this but I think it’s probably a good idea. Summer crowds seem to get rowdy as the sun goes down on Alki and this will probably keep things safer.

    • Lucy May 20, 2024 (6:58 pm)

      Only if it is enforced.  I don’t mind the fires and the noise as much I mind the garbage left on the beach and the car racing down Alki Ave.  

      • Dove May 20, 2024 (11:01 pm)

        Ban cars on Alki Ave.

  • West Seattle Person May 20, 2024 (6:52 pm)

    Agree on Torvald’s point about fire pits remaining in fall and winter. Wouldn’t it be nice on the rare dry winter evenings we get to have a fire by the beach?

    • 1994 May 20, 2024 (9:41 pm)

      Or maybe be allowed to bring your own propane fire pit during winter?  This is from above:  Bringing your own fire pit is not allowed, and no propane fire pits/rings are allowed. 

      • Jay May 21, 2024 (8:51 am)

        The propane ban is a new rule that was stealth dropped last year. Parks is taking an adversarial with West Seattle and turning every Alki NIMBY complain into a rule. My wife and I used to come out with a propane fire pit once a week after she got off work at 9:30pm and there have never been issues. But Alki Karens kept calling 911 and harassing us, standing in front of us taking photos. SFD showed up a few times and they were pissed at the 911 callers, told us we were doing nothing wrong and to carry on, thanked us for enjoying the beach safely. These Karens complained to Parks about a non-issue and it suddenly becomes a rule. Alki is a great place, but some of the residents ruin it for everyone.

        • k May 21, 2024 (9:49 am)

          This specific one isn’t a NIMBY thing.  The city is banning various gas- and propane-fueled devices throughout the city (remember the gas leaf blowers?).  It’s city property and if the city is moving away from propane, you will also need to move away from propane while on their property.

          • Jay May 21, 2024 (11:11 am)

            There’s no way that could be the case – propane has much less CO2 and VOC emissions than burning wood.

  • Kyle May 20, 2024 (8:25 pm)

    Parks seems to like it best when people can’t use the parks.

  • Lauren May 20, 2024 (9:49 pm)

    This is the second year of this pilot, yes? Has SPD provided any data from last year?

    • WSB May 20, 2024 (9:55 pm)

      Fourth year. Parks’ feedback form says third but our archives show 2021 as the first year. For at least the past two years, their boilerplate has said the Parks Board would get a report but that board doesn’t have particularly robust archives, I’ll have to try to find their past year’s archives to see if they ever did have a discussion of last year, for example.

  • Roddy3 May 20, 2024 (10:32 pm)

    I miss the ’80s

    • Daniel May 21, 2024 (1:04 am)

      I don’t, the homicide rate was even higher back then.  60 homicides per year with like 30% smaller population.

  • Corla May 21, 2024 (6:32 am)

    Still makes no sense to have no fire pits during the cold  months.  I don’t really think that hour makes much of a difference does it? If crime is going to happen, its going to happen no matter what the “rules” are. 

  • Jason May 21, 2024 (7:59 am)

    WHY so early??? We aren’t all grandmas. This is absurd. It is barely getting dark at 10:30. 

  • Jay May 21, 2024 (8:53 am)

    What the NIMBYs need to understand if that if they have Parks crack down on families enjoying the beach, then only the rowdy people will use it. After SPD sweeps people quietly enjoying the beach the problematic people will come back and have free reign. The messy stuff always happens late night after SPD is gone.

Sorry, comment time is over.